Ange Postecoglou explains why he left the likes of Yves Bissouma, Heung-min Son and James Maddison out of the starting eleven against Newcastle.
Tottenham were already missing several key men due to injuries and suspensions. To make matters worse, a bug running through the squad put even more strain on the squad ahead of their showdown with Newcastle.
As a result, Postecoglou fielded an extremely depleted side, with some players starting despite not being 100 per cent, with the Tottenham head coach later confessing that both Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray were bed-ridden in the days leading up to the game.
However, some eyebrows were raised when Lucas Bergvall and Timo Werner found a place in the starting eleven while Son, Bissouma and Maddison did not.
Postecoglou explained that he wanted the starting eleven to have extra running power against Newcastle and bring on experienced players in the latter part of the game.
Despite his side’s 2-1 loss, the Australian remarked that the game plan worked as expected, insisting that the substitutes made a big impact on the game.
When asked why Son, Bissouma and Maddison did not start, Postecoglou told Football.London: “Just a combination of I thought we were going to need some running power and energy early on and as the game went on we would be able to use the experience of the guys who came on and I thought it worked well.
“We finished really strong. We started the game really well and the only thing that stopped us in our tracks was not football. That was the whole idea about it.
“Guys like Sonny, Biss and Maddison to a lesser extent, they have played a lot of football and having them fresh helps them mentally as much as physically and I thought all three when they came on made a real difference for us.”
An additional reason behind Postecoglou’s decision might have been the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool on Wednesday.
That game will go a long way towards determining the Australian’s future at Spurs and he might have wanted to ensure that several of his key men are fit.
Even if the Reds rotate their squad, Spurs will have to be at their best and their big guns will have to deliver for them to have a chance of causing an upset.
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