Tottenham Hotspurs boss Ange Postecoglou gives injury updates, talks about the unbelievable opportunity on the horizon in Europa League and more
25/04/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
25/04/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00Just give us a bit of update on your injury problems, team news, in terms of the two centre-backs,
00:06Christian Romero and Mickey van der Ven, do you envision them playing a full 90 at the weekend
00:10or perhaps one of those where you have to manage them like Monday?
00:14Don't really have injury problems, we've only got really one that's kind of, obviously Sonny's the one
00:20that's kind of working, trying to work his way back and he's improving which is positive for us,
00:27not for Sunday, but apart from obviously the longer-term ones, everyone else from the last game
00:35has backed up really well, so the rest of the squad's fit and available and in terms of team selection
00:41we'll see another sort of 48 hours to decide which way we go.
00:45So Sonny not available for Sunday, but do you envision him being right for Thursday?
00:48Oh, we'll see, like I said, he's improving, it was the first time he's kind of got out in the grass today
00:52and he said he felt it's definitely better than what it was, so it's kind of a day-by-day proposition.
00:58Obviously you want to give a professional and competitive performance against Liverpool,
01:01but is really the essential priority just getting through unscathed and looking at Thursday?
01:06No, I think you want to do more than that.
01:10You know, you want to go there and compete against obviously a very good side and compete well
01:15and it's not about just getting through unscathed, you want to get through having played well against a top team
01:23and I think irrespective of sort of what's on the horizon, that's still of sort of primary importance to us.
01:31Hi, Andrew, good afternoon.
01:32First of all, can I hear your reaction?
01:34Yesterday we heard that Jamie Vardy announced that he'll be leaving Leicester City at the end of the season.
01:39What a story from non-league to a Premier League legend.
01:41What's your reaction about this, also the way he inspired so many people with his background?
01:45Yeah, great story and, you know, I haven't seen sort of the story around it,
01:52but I assume he still wants to play because I think he still can play.
01:56But yeah, look, incredible story and, you know, there's always, the ones that always stand out are the ones that are unique
02:02and he's certainly got a unique journey that it is, it's inspiring for everyone.
02:09You know, there'd be, you know, when you see where he started and, you know, reaching the pinnacle of the game,
02:14including, you know, winning a championship.
02:18Incredible, great servant.
02:19Not too many who end up doing it at the, you know, the majority at the one club,
02:23which is also, you know, a testament to him.
02:26And yeah, great career.
02:28And his longevity shows that, you know, he obviously knew what was important for him to always be in the best condition
02:36and, you know, made sure he always looked after himself.
02:39There's a lot of lessons there for many aspiring young footballers and he's a great example of, you know,
02:47the different paths that people can take to get to the top.
02:50It's not always, you know, elite academies and, you know, big contracts when you're young.
02:59It's about working your way through and he certainly did that and he earned everything he's got.
03:03And if you look at Spurs this season, in Europe, you're only three games away from potentially winning a trophy.
03:08On the other hand, in the league, the league position is obviously below where you were hoping for
03:12and everyone else were hoping for.
03:13How do you try to balance it emotionally from your perspective, from the fans' expectations, the players as well?
03:19I think, you know, you've just got to try and deal with what's before you.
03:25And as you said, we're well aware that our league form and league position is nowhere near good enough.
03:33But we also know that there's an unbelievable opportunity on the horizon.
03:37And, you know, I think irrespective of, you know, these clubs had many seasons
03:43and a lot of clubs have many seasons where they've done outstandingly well in the league
03:48but don't have the opportunity we have right now of being in a Final Four in a major European competition.
03:52So, you know, that's, I think that's where the focus is and that's where the focus should be, irrespective,
04:00especially for a club that, you know, hasn't had a lot of success recently.
04:05You know, obviously we've got a wonderful opportunity, the players have, and the club has.
04:11And collectively, if we, you know, we give ourselves every opportunity to progress to a Final,
04:18then I think, you know, hopefully the momentum we gain from that will give us a chance to do something special.
04:25Jürgen Klopp.
04:26Jürgen obviously left a very strong and positive foundation at Liverpool when he left.
04:31But did you ever think that Arnestad, first season in English football, first season at Liverpool,
04:35will lead Liverpool to where they are at one point and they will win the Premier League?
04:39Yeah, look, I wouldn't have discounted the possibilities.
04:43He's an outstanding manager and, as you said, he picked up an outstanding team.
04:47And, yeah, they've been brilliant in the league this year.
04:51They've, you know, they've been really consistent, maintained a really high level.
04:56They've had their best players playing all the time and playing at a really high level.
04:59And that's a credit to Arnie and his coaching group and to the players themselves because, you know,
05:08they've been close in the last few years.
05:12And, you know, the fact that they're on the cusp of potentially winning another title,
05:18I think, is a credit to everyone involved.
05:19I just want to ask about Sonny.
05:24Has it just been rest is needed or treatment or a bit of both?
05:27Yeah, a bit of both, a bit of both.
05:28It's just, like I said, it's obviously a foot ailment which, because it's weight-bearing,
05:33you just need to give him some rest, give him some time off it and get some treatment.
05:38But the main is just, I think, just to get him off his feet for a week
05:44and allow it to settle so that he can start this process of getting back.
05:49Christian Romero did an interview where he spoke about his future
05:51and maybe what might happen in the future.
05:53I just wondered what you made of that and how important it is that Spurs keep a player like him.
05:58Yeah, I mean, I haven't read the report too closely, but, I mean, it's like me, mate.
06:04If you get asked a question, you've got to answer it, you know,
06:06and I'm sure there's a lot of, you know, if you ask me a lot of questions about my future,
06:10you'd probably get some great headlines out of that as well.
06:12But it doesn't change.
06:13You know what's important right now?
06:15It's not Christian Romero's future or anyone else's future.
06:18is that we've got an unbelievable opportunity to do something special at this football club.
06:23And for me and everyone involved internally, that's all we're concentrating on.
06:28Let's just put our heads down and make sure that,
06:32because I think for our supporters, that is what's the most important thing to them right now.
06:38Right now, all they care about is that, you know,
06:41we're in the last four of our European competition.
06:42We've got an opportunity to do something special, and that's where our focus is.
06:47I suppose, obviously, you'll be looking to Pedro Porro.
06:49He's just played this incredible amount of minutes this season.
06:53I don't want to jinx him on such wood, but I don't think he's had an injury this season.
06:57What does he do differently?
06:59How has he managed to kind of keep himself up?
07:01He's a pro, he looks after himself, he does everything right on and off the field,
07:06but he's also, you know, he's got the kind of body that's resilient to, you know,
07:12the amount of intensity and game time he's had, and it's a credit to him.
07:19And it's not just that he's played, he's kept at a really good level all year,
07:22and, you know, he's been a mainstay for us in a defence where I'd hate to think
07:27how many sort of defensive partners he's played with.
07:30I mean, four goalkeepers and probably upwards of ten different defenders
07:35that he's played alongside, and he's kind of been the constant.
07:38So he's been brilliant for us.
07:40For the moment I arrived, you know, he's got a great personality,
07:44he's got great enthusiasm and passion for the game,
07:46and I think that's why he gets the most out of himself all the time.
07:51Hi, Ange.
07:52Richarlison scored four times in the league this season,
07:54even though he's not played that many times.
07:56What impact could he have made if he'd been available every week?
08:00Yeah, I mean, that's not sure.
08:03But not just this year.
08:05I think if you look at his record last year when he was playing,
08:07he was pretty confident, but, you know, with Richie,
08:12it hasn't been, we haven't been able to keep him fit and out there long enough.
08:16But the good thing is he's in a really good place physically now,
08:19and certainly, like I said, with the opportunity we had before us,
08:23he becomes a real important player for us.
08:25What does Richie offer that's slightly different to Dom?
08:29Just a different type of player.
08:31I mean, Richie's a real kind of...
08:32sort of 18-yard box kind of striker where he really is a, you know,
08:40makes an impact when the ball arrives in the box.
08:42Whether that's in the air or on the ground, he's a real impact player.
08:45He tends to play around those areas,
08:47whereas Dom will work in other areas.
08:50But ultimately, I think they're both, yeah, strikers that fit into sort of how we want to play.
08:58Like I said, just with Richie, we just haven't had him available enough.
09:02Hi, Ange.
09:03Archie Gray's played 40 times a season and had a very good first year at Spurs,
09:07but I think he's only started once over the last month.
09:09Is he kind of someone you're kind of eager to get more game time into,
09:13or is it just kind of a combination of competition in his places now?
09:16No, I think it's just, yeah, nothing.
09:20I mean, I guess with all these things,
09:25you know, just people look at them in the moment in time.
09:30If you had have said at the start of the year that Lucas Bergvold and Archie Gray
09:34and Mikey Moore would have played the amount of time they have as teenagers,
09:37I wouldn't have said that that's impossible.
09:41So they've played a lot.
09:42They've played a lot because they've earned it.
09:43Obviously, the opportunity as well.
09:44But Archie will play.
09:45He'll play even between now and the year.
09:47He'll play significant minutes.
09:48Just the games haven't worked out the way we wanted him to.
09:51And we needed to get game time into other guys.
09:53He's fit.
09:54He's available.
09:55Other guys, it wasn't the case.
09:57As I said, we've got a real clear focus about where we need to be for the rest of this year
10:02and who needs to be in good physical condition.
10:05Archie is in good physical condition.
10:07Others weren't, so we had to give them some game time.
10:10But, you know, there's no doubt Archie will play a significant role still
10:13for the rest of this year.
10:15And in terms of Liverpool games this season, you've played them three times.
10:18How do you kind of reflect on those games?
10:20Because it feels like, in a way, they've kind of summed up the season.
10:23A brilliant win in there, but two heavy defeats either side.
10:26And you had injuries for all three games as well.
10:29Yeah.
10:29And they've been very settled.
10:31So, I mean, like I said, that's the story of our season.
10:33And, you know, we've kind of fluctuated between being really good at times with other times
10:42not so good.
10:43I mean, they're the only team that's really sort of, you know, beaten us comprehensively.
10:49I mean, I'm not really sure what the figures are, but out of the 18 games or whatever we've
10:53lost in the league, I think 15 of them have probably been by a goal.
10:56So, it's not like, you know, but Liverpool for sure.
10:59They, you know, they happened to us up a couple of times.
11:04But like I said, in the cup game, I thought we, you know, in the first leg, we were really
11:08good.
11:08We took the game to them, even though, again, we had quite a few absences and, you know,
11:13worked really hard to get a win in that game.
11:14So, we know it's going to be tough on the weekend, but at the same time, I think it's
11:18a great challenge for us.
11:19And just funny for me, you're obviously a proud man, proud of your record at other clubs
11:24and this season could finish with the Europa League.
11:27Obviously, at the minute, the kind of, the numbers, 18 defeats, and I think potentially
11:31it could be worst ever Premier League season.
11:34How much has that kind of hurt you, I guess, personally?
11:36Because obviously, that's not what you wanted coming into this season.
11:40Yeah, well, it's not about, it's not about me.
11:43It's not about what I feel and me personally.
11:45It's about us as a club.
11:46And obviously, you know, like I said, we've fallen well short.
11:50But we can assess all that at the end of the year, in terms of the totality of my two
11:59years here.
12:02So, you know, let's assess it there.
12:06And you spoke about, as a child, you supported Liverpool.
12:10Is it a bit weird now you can potentially be spoiling their title party?
12:13Is there any emotion there this week or is it all strictly business?
12:16No, mate, I'm a 60-year-old, almost 60-year-old adult.
12:22I've gone past my boy who would crush us.
12:24So, it's got no, no impact whatsoever.
12:29I have great admiration for the football club.
12:32Yes, I supported him when I was younger.
12:34But, you know, that was 50-odd years ago.
12:39So, we've well and truly moved on since then.
12:41And then there's a lot of talk about where you are in the league and then the upcoming
12:45semi-finals.
12:46Is there a sense to ever switch off with the pressure?
12:50Or can you switch off when it's this time of the season?
12:53Or do you just look forward to each game?
12:57No, fair to say you can't really switch off.
13:00I think there's plenty going on that keeps you really focused.
13:03And, honestly, we've got an unbelievable opportunity on the horizon that I'm well and truly, you
13:11know, laser focused on making sure we give ourselves the best chance of success.
13:16That's what I do.