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Postecoglou tells ‘bruised egos’ to fight for Spurs.
Head coach wants his players to be ‘up for the challenge’ at Southampton on Sunday
Ange Postecoglou has demanded his Tottenham Hotspur players show more fight and says he has no time for “bruised egos”, after describing Timo Werner’s performance in their 1-1 draw with Rangers “unacceptable”.
Ahead of his side’s visit to Southampton on Sunday night, Postecoglou stressed kindness must come second at the moment, saying: “I want people who are up for the challenge. We are in a fight here.
“I’m not going to go away worrying about people’s bruised egos. We’re here to win things. I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they’re not able to give extra now, it probably says something.”
Spurs are 11th in the Premier League and have taken four points from their last five matches. Their only win in eight games in all competitions was the 4-0 victory at champions Manchester City on 22 November.
Postecoglou says his criticism after the UEFA Europa League draw in Glasgow extended beyond Werner, as he asked for more from his senior players this weekend following four defeats from seven Premier League matches.
“It’s not about Timo,” the Australian said, during his press conference to preview the Southampton match.
“It’s not about bringing somebody down and blaming somebody. It wasn’t criticism, it was an assessment.
“When people are in a fight and a battle, do you think they go around asking, ‘How are you feeling today? Are you feeling up for this?’ You’ve got no choice, mate. You’ve got to be up for it.
“I need guys who understand the situation we’re in. It’s about who we are, in the situation we’re in right now.
“If it’s not Timo, it could be someone else on Sunday. If somebody else doesn’t perform to the levels for the current situation we’re in, then we’re going to suffer for it because we’ve only got a certain amount of players. We’ve only got 15 fit players.
“This is not a time for us to be worried about people’s mindsets. If you don’t understand or feel what we’re in at the moment, I’m not sure what it’s going to take.”