Tottenham could get 3 key players back for Man Utd clash amid Ange Postecoglou's 'no interest' claim
Tottenham could be boosted by the return of some key players ahead of their clash with Manchester United.
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Ange Postecoglou as he looks to turn Tottenham’s fortunes around. It has been a disastrous season for Spurs so far, and it only got worse last season with two cup exits, losing in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and the FA Cup fourth round.
That applied even more pressure to Postecoglou, given two more shots at silverware - and indeed European qualification - have now disappeared. Spurs now likely only have the Europa League to play for, although they will need a few wins to secure Premier League safety first.
That starts with this weekend’s clash with Manchester United, and there is some good news ahead of that one, with injuries finally starting to clear up at both ends of the pitch. And according to The Times, Tottenham could welcome back James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie for the United clash.
Vicario has been out since November when he fractured his ankle, while Maddison has been out over recent weeks with a pulled calf. Udogie, meanwhile, has missed the last 11 with a hamstring issue. The return of all three would be huge for Postecoglou as he looks to turn things around, and indeed ease pressure on his position.
Meanwhile, Spurs are also close to getting Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke back from injury, with all of those players likely to return at different stages through this month.
Ange’s big defence
Postecoglou went on the offensive after his players were criticised for their FA Cup exit to Aston Villa. He said: “How did Liverpool go today? And they did that for one game. Do that for two‑and‑a‑half months. Any team. Do that for two-and-a-half months in multiple competitions. I don’t care about me. People will judge me. But you can’t judge this group of players on what’s happened. They’ve given everything.
“Villa are one of the best teams in the country. They’ve had a week off, they didn’t play last Thursday night against Liverpool [in the Carabao Cup] We did. Same group of players.”
He added: “I’m not talking about me. People can judge me. They can say I’ve done a bad job, I’m not up to it or whatever. That’s fine. What I’m saying is you can’t be critical of players or players’ performances at this time. Because if you do, then do that with everyone else. Be as critical of other clubs when they’ve got 9 or 10 or 11 players out. And none of them have.
“It can’t be that people think that’s an excuse. That’s just not anywhere near close to objective analysis. That’s just agenda driven stuff. If it’s to get rid of me that’s fine. Good on you. Go for it a million times. But in terms of this group of players, what they’ve given over the past two and half months has been outstanding. The players are tired. Do you think they can press like [we would like to] if we hadn’t played Thursday night? Fair chance … unless you don’t think they’re human beings.
“Why do you think Liverpool and others rotate 11 players? Why? There’s a reason and I wish I could do the same. They’re not playing anywhere near the levels that we want or expect but that’s not because they’re not trying. It’s because they can’t. Once we get the rest of the group in, we will be an outstanding team. I have no doubt about that. Whether other people can’t see that, that’s of no interest to me. If you want to measure anything on what they’re doing at the moment, other than the extreme situation they’re dealing with then I think your analysis is skewed and it’s not objective.”
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