Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou branded one of his players’ performances in Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Rangers in the Europa League as “unacceptable” in an honest rant.
Postecoglou, 59, saw his side perform poorly at Ibrox as they trailed for much of the second half before Dejan Kulusevski equalised on 75 minutes.
Rangers’ goalscorer Hamza Igamane was unlucky not to hand the Scots the lead in the final moments of proceedings when he went on a mazy run but could not beat Fraser Forster.
Shortly after, Igamane had the ball in the net, but the sight of the offside flag quickly dampened any celebrations.
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The draw means Rangers sit in eighth position, which would secure them an automatic spot in the knockout stages. Spurs are ninth, and as things stand, they would have to play a knockout phase play-off.
Kulusevski’s strike arguably spared Tottenham's blushes, but it was the man he replaced at half-time who received criticism from his manager.
Timo Werner was withdrawn at the midway point after a poor first-half showing.
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The German was ‘given a dressing down’ by the former Celtic boss in the Tottenham dressing room.
“He [Timo Werner] wasn’t playing anywhere near the level he should,” said Postecoglou in his post-match press conference in Glasgow.
“When you’ve got 18-year-olds [playing], it’s not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo.
“He’s a senior international, he’s a German international.
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“In the moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options. I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable.”
When asked how the player took the dressing down, Postecoglou explained how he didn’t “really know,” but it wasn’t of “great concern”.
"We need everybody, including him, to be contributing," he added.
“Because we don’t have the depth to leave people out if they’re performing poorly.
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“We need them to play their part. Especially the senior guys. When I’m asking younger guys to do massive jobs. I expect a level of performance from some of the senior guys. And today wasn’t that.”
Werner is currently on loan at Spurs from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig having first penned a loan deal for the second half of the 2023/24 season.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Europa League, Ange Postecoglou, Timo Werner
Luke Davies