Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou discusses the disappointing outcome to tonight Carabao Cup match.
With no European football the line up he decided on tonight was to test and give players the opportunity on the pitch who deserve to be on there.
With no European football the line up he decided on tonight was to test and give players the opportunity on the pitch who deserve to be on there.
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00:00 How do you feel about the result?
00:16 Obviously disappointed with the outcome, getting knocked out of the cup.
00:28 We weren't at our fluent best early on, which is not surprising considering the amount of
00:36 changes I've made, the fact that the boys are the players tonight.
00:39 That's the first start for the season.
00:42 So we lacked a little bit of cohesion and fluency.
00:47 I really like the way we hung in there.
00:48 There's many different ways you grow as a team.
00:53 I thought we showed some real character tonight and personality to hang in there.
00:57 I thought second half we had our moments to maybe go on and win it.
01:03 But ultimately we weren't able to get over the line and you lose on penalties.
01:11 So you've got to just wear it.
01:12 Can you talk us through the team selection and why you made so many changes?
01:13 I guess with no European football, there's even more of a case that the cup should have
01:14 been a bit higher up than your priorities.
01:15 It is more priority making.
01:16 Like you said, there's no European football, so how am I going to find out about our players?
01:31 What opportunity would I have to do that other than a game?
01:35 They're all Tottenham players.
01:37 They're all part of our club.
01:41 We put out a line-up tonight that will hopefully give us energy.
01:47 We just weren't able to get over the line.
01:49 That doesn't mean that the cup or any game is not a priority for us.
01:55 From my perspective, we're very much at the discovery stage.
02:00 I need to find out.
02:05 We need to give players the opportunity to contribute because that's why they're here.
02:09 They're not here just to make up the numbers.
02:11 A lot of them have been working hard at training and we deserve an opportunity to go out there
02:19 and play tonight.
02:20 How much of an issue is it now that you won't have the opportunity to give those players
02:25 minutes?
02:26 At least they've had some.
02:28 If we need them over the next two or three weeks, we've got the window.
02:34 We can do some extra work with them in terms of fitness.
02:38 That's the reality of it.
02:40 We're going to need to rely on these guys, not just them, but whenever we get some disruptions
02:51 along the way, which inevitably happen, whether that's injuries or players coming in and out.
02:55 Tonight was an opportunity to get some game time into some guys, as you said, because
02:59 it's going to be difficult moving forward.
03:01 Does that change anything with the size of the squad that you want to have?
03:06 Just given Arizona have won the competition, do you think it's going to be a two-man game?
03:10 No, not really.
03:11 I think the size of the squad, in my mind, is the same as it's always been.
03:16 We want to have a squad that's resilient enough to grow and be competitive in a tough Premier
03:24 League season.
03:25 Obviously, at one point, it was a Richardson story.
03:29 Really good for his confidence, but how has his ankle affected his recovery?
03:34 I think it got a bit of a knock.
03:36 I guess because everyone's been talking about its way for him to score a goal, I think he's
03:44 played better for us in the other games.
03:46 I get why other people look at that, and I understand that, but for me, it's about contributing
03:52 to our football, how we play.
03:54 I thought we gave away the ball a little bit too much tonight.
03:58 Not just him, there were a few players in that boat.
04:01 It's an important part of our game, so that's the stuff that I want Richie to keep working
04:05 on and improving.
04:06 I think the goals will come.
04:07 I think the way we play, our strikers, our attacking players, all our players will get
04:12 opportunities to score.
04:13 To me, it's more about the overall game that's much more important at this stage.
04:18 When you look at the squad as a whole, as you've seen, ignoring those guys that you think may
04:24 leave the club, do you feel like you'd like more players to come in in the next few days?
04:29 I think my views around that haven't really changed.
04:36 We need to trim the squad and get to a more manageable state and then see what's available
04:48 for us to then bring in players to strengthen the squad in a couple of areas I think we
04:54 may need.
04:56 You said you were in discovery, did you learn more tonight about who you can and can't rely
05:02 on going forward?
05:03 I wouldn't say can't rely on.
05:05 That's a bit harsh for me to sort of meter somebody when you're doing that.
05:09 Like I said, I thought there was some real... I like the way that we hung in there.
05:15 That's going to be important for us.
05:16 There was some character and resilience shown amongst the guys that I think is going to
05:21 be needed moving forward, just amongst the group.
05:25 Like I said, we've come away in a cup game to a Premier League side and lost on penalties.
05:31 If we'd lost 4-0 or got blown away then maybe there'd be a different discussion to be had.
05:38 If we'd won on penalties, would my views be different right now?
05:43 No, it'd be exactly the same.
05:45 It's not really measured by the outcome, it's more measured about the whole experience of
05:54 us seeing the guys out there, how much they're understanding our football.
06:00 I thought there were some good moments and there's obviously some moments we still need
06:03 to improve on.
06:04 This is a genuine question.
06:06 Did your players have difficulty in picking each other out in your cappuccino away strips?
06:13 I must admit, I struggled to follow them in my peripheral vision.
06:17 There were a lot of misplaced passes in the first half.
06:19 I just wonder whether natural visibility is a shared issue.
06:24 I don't know is the real answer to that genuine question.
06:33 That's my genuine answer.
06:34 I'm not really sure.
06:35 I don't think it would have played a massive part.
06:39 I think some of it is just, like I said, in a team function when there isn't familiarity
06:46 there.
06:47 Like I said, guys who haven't played with each other in over two or three games, there's
06:52 not going to be the fluency there that we've seen.
06:57 That's understandable.
06:58 But again, that's part of the process of where we're at at the moment.
07:02 We need to, like I said, find out about our players, find out about the group and our
07:11 character and our personality.
07:17 Maybe we need to check our colour matching capabilities on our cappuccino.
07:25 How did you get Ben Scarlet's first minutes of this season?
07:31 What did you make of his performance and is it your intention to keep him in the club
07:34 beyond transfer window?
07:36 Yeah, I thought he was bright when he came on.
07:39 He's been really good for us.
07:40 He's a trainee, he's working really hard.
07:42 I'll sit down over the next couple of days with Dane and chart a way forward for him.
07:49 I really think he's definitely got a future in our club.
07:52 I really like his attributes as a striker.
07:56 It's always a balance with young players.
07:59 Will he get enough game time?
08:01 Because for him, that's the next stage of development, is to play.
08:05 We played a fair few games last year, but I think he's actually improved as a player
08:10 since then.
08:12 I'll make a decision over the next couple of days and sit down with him.
08:17 I certainly see him as a top-number player.
08:21 A lot of that will depend on what else happens over the next two or three days.
08:26 Thank you very much.
08:27 Thank you.
08:28 Thank you.
08:29 Thank you.
08:30 Thank you.
08:31 Thank you.
08:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]