I wonder what else could possibly go wrong? - Ange (Full Presser part two) - video Dailymotion

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglu discusses injuries, taking care of players and how he wonders what else could possibly go wrong at times.  03/01/2025  Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK

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00:00No, I'd be no good bald and my wife would definitely leave me.

00:08Look, you know, like I said, Tom, it's just, I've never been this kind of guy who, you

00:15know, worries me and like anything else go wrong, I just think, you know, it's a hell

00:18of a challenge.

00:19I keep telling the guys in there, it's just going to make the story better, you know,

00:25and more interesting at the end, wherever we end up.

00:27It's just part of, you know, and I think these things do kind of go in cycles at times where

00:32you just feel like, oh my God, what else, you know, every time I get a message or an

00:37update, you know, what else could possibly go wrong?

00:40But I really believe all these things are just temporary.

00:42They're a good test of character.

00:44They're a good test of resolve.

00:45They're a good test of resilience.

00:47And I still, you know, think that within that context, there's still opportunity for growth

00:53and we'll get through it.

00:56As I said, I've got a really resilient group of players who are just refusing to make excuses.

01:00They're working as hard as anything.

01:02That's all you can ask for and eventually we'll get over this and who knows, you know,

01:08I think they do go in cycles, mate.

01:11There's been times I've won things and I've thought, I don't know how that happened, the

01:13footballing gods were smiling on us, you know, and I don't question it then because I think

01:18we deserve the success and I don't question it now.

01:20It's just where we're at.

01:22When you've been in Newcastle last time, you said that there's been injuries, you know,

01:25pretty blistering stuff and there's quite a lot that was getting scored there.

01:29This, since, in the 20-24 to be honest, there's been a lot of times when you've fallen behind

01:34particularly, giving yourself a bit of a moment to turn it around.

01:39What do you put that down to?

01:40Why does that consistently happen?

01:43I don't know.

01:44I think, like I said, some of it's just, I don't know, it's context.

01:49I really think those things are an occurrence because of something that's really tangible.

01:56I think there's always reasons for those things.

01:58I don't think, you know, I don't think we're slow starters.

02:00I don't think we're, you know, it's a lot we don't create chances.

02:03I mean, a lot of these games, maybe not the weekend, but a lot of these games we've fallen

02:07behind.

02:08We've had the best chance to score first and we haven't.

02:11I can remember at least three of them in recent times.

02:15We've had unbelievable chances in the first two minutes of a game to go ahead and we don't

02:19and then the opposition score.

02:20So, I think there's always context to that, but I think it is important at home that it

02:25does make a big difference if you can start strong and get the first goal because it kind

02:29of helps you build momentum into a game.

02:33For us, going goal behind, even though our propensity to come back is still strong, it's

02:41not helpful, particularly in the current situation, because it just requires a hell of a lot,

02:44again, more energy that probably we don't need to be using right now.

02:48I'm just wondering, I know you've been asked a lot of times about James Mercer and

02:51when he's been given out of the team because he's a big name, creative player.

02:55But he does seem like, on the face of it, almost like a poster boy for your style of

02:59play and yet he's in one week and then there's a lot of injuries.

03:04I suppose the question is, what is it about him that needs to do to get into the club?

03:10I don't know about that.

03:11He was due to play last week but he was sick so I had to change the team on the day and

03:15sort of leave him out on the bench because he was ill on the day.

03:20I think the reason he's still doing well is I've kind of been able, because I've got midfield

03:25numbers, to rest him a little bit.

03:26I just don't think any player can play the volume of games we're playing at the moment

03:30and the way we want to play and maintain performance.

03:33I just don't think it's feasible.

03:36I don't think there's anything in the way Madders is playing that would mean he'd get

03:40more game time.

03:41I still think the key with us with Madders is to keep him healthy, keep him fit, keep

03:45him sharp and that is by not playing every game.

03:48Especially with, like I said, the program we've got.

03:53So I think when he's played this year, his goals tell he's strong, he's always impacted

04:00the game and that's what we need him to keep doing.

04:04But I don't think that means he's going to play more.

04:08I just don't think it's feasible for anyone.

04:10At the moment, the only ones who are kind of playing regularly are the ones we've got

04:15no real options for.

04:16We have to play them all the time.

04:18I'd love to give Dom Solanke a rest.

04:21I'd love to give Golosiewski a rest.

04:23I'd love to give Radu and Archie a rest because I think that would help improve performance

04:30but it's just a cycle we're in.

04:34Can you talk a little bit about Jed Spence?

04:37He certainly feels important to you.

04:40He's been nowhere for two and a half years.

04:42Has he impressed you last month?

04:46What do you need to be on the outside?

04:51Yeah, no, you're right.

04:52A lot of it is just down to him.

04:54He's just really knuckled down.

04:56He has to be patient but I think he's been really good for us.

05:00As I was saying to Tom before, even in tough times, you get these little spurts of opportunity

05:07for others that maybe wouldn't have happened for Jed.

05:10The reality of it is, maybe if we'd have everyone healthy, we wouldn't get the opportunity.

05:14In January, we'd be looking at a different scenario for him.

05:16But right now, he's performing really well.

05:19I was disappointed he got sent off against Forrest because I think he could have helped us last week.

05:24He is very important for us.

05:28I think it's the destiny going down, especially.

05:30Not because he's just a player available, but in the games he's played, he's played really well.

05:35He's made an impact.

05:36Maybe he senses that opportunity as well.

05:39The opportunity now to not just become part of Tottenham on a permanent basis in his own mind

05:49where he feels settled, but now push him to be a starting player.

05:52I think he has the capacity to do that.

05:56Was there something he was doing wrong?

05:58I don't think there was anything missing.

06:00There was probably a reason he hadn't settled, whether it was here or anywhere else.

06:06But I think I mentioned at the start of pre-season, there was an opportunity for him here.

06:12We were going to give him that opportunity.

06:14We weren't necessarily going to get him out of line.

06:15The rest was up to him.

06:16A lot of that is just how you deal with, how he dealt with the fact that he had to train

06:22every day really hard without a lot of prospect of playing.

06:26I think he impressed everyone with his attitude towards that.

06:29Maybe in the past he was a little bit impatient or maybe his attitude wasn't great in terms of

06:33he wasn't playing or he wasn't feeling like he was a regular.

06:36But this year he's had to bide his time and he's done that in the best possible way,

06:40waiting for his opportunity.

06:41Now when he's got it, I think he's grown.

06:44Some of it's just maturity too.

06:45He's not a young boy anymore.

06:48He probably feels like, well, if I'm going to have a Tottenham career,

06:51now's the time to grab that.

06:53I think he has done that.

07:07He wasn't doing the darts.

07:09He was kind of, yeah, I've got no problem with that.

07:12I've got no problem with the players having lives.

07:14It's a lot different trying to play a game of football.

07:16And, you know, living a life.

07:21I don't see any problem with that.

07:23And I don't think it sort of hurt him.

07:25Like I said, he wasn't 100 per cent and it was a game where we needed somebody to be 100 per cent.

07:29He's still well enough to play, so it wasn't like he was bedridden.

07:33If he was bedridden and didn't turn up to the game and then went to the darts,

07:37then, yeah, there may be an issue there.

07:39But I have no issue with that.

07:47The deals that are done now may be a bit late.

07:50No, because, again, like I said, hindsight's an easy thing.

07:54But, you know, I still feel the players we brought in,

07:58I mean, no-one will tell me that Dom Solanke or Archie Gray or Lucas Bergvall,

08:04and obviously Wilson, we've hardly seen him, are not good acquisitions for us.

08:09And, you know, in the world of hindsight, everything looks so much easier and simpler and clearer.

08:18But that's not the world I live in. I live in the real world.

08:21And I think the business we did was good.

08:25And I think medium and long term will be fantastic for this football club.

08:31I've got no doubt about that. We've got some great players in.

08:35Yeah, we tried to do some other deals that didn't happen,

08:38but that's because they weren't the right ones for us or we just couldn't make them happen.

08:44But, you know, I didn't expect to have this kind of attrition in terms of the playing ranks, I think.

08:54Even if, say, two out of all our defenders, whether it was Vic and one central defender,

09:01were fit through this period, I'm sure we wouldn't be in the spot we're in.

09:16Yeah, but... OK.

09:19So, van der Ven, we've got Radha Dragosan, we've got Ben Davies.

09:25How many centre-backs do we need to have?

09:27Seven? Like, that's the real world.

09:30So, unless you're saying that those players aren't good enough and they needed to move on

09:34to bring in a fifth centre-back who, if everyone was healthy, wouldn't play at all.

09:40We had enough cover, but we didn't expect to lose all our centre-backs in one go.

09:44In any club, so you name me a club that if they lost their two starting centre-backs

09:47plus their back-up centre-back would be flying right now

09:51or would have another centre-back that could walk in to do exactly the same job,

09:55I'd be very surprised.

09:57Goalkeeping is always a tricky one because, again,

10:01you want to bring in the right kind of goalkeeper.

10:04It's not just about numbers.

10:08Like I said, in hindsight, everything looks clear and everything looks...

10:12Everyone wants somebody to blame.

10:14Everyone wants somebody to be at fault.

10:16And sometimes it's just the way things happen

10:18and you deal with what you have in front of you.

10:20So the perfect plan does not exist,

10:22but I understand the need for people to think that that's the way it should be,

10:27that I should have...

10:28Well, not me because it's not about me.

10:29This football club should have every base covered

10:32so that every possibility that happens throughout the year

10:34you have a solution for.

10:35Well, that's not the reality.

10:41Just a few. We'll see.

10:45Fair to say I almost got involved in training yesterday,

10:48which is not a good thing, by the way.

10:52Yeah, we'll give him a...

10:53I mean, it's illness, so you kind of...

10:56You almost work hour by hour, so hopefully...

10:59I'm hoping it's not too bad.

11:00I'm hoping that...

11:02But obviously it disrupted our training week,

11:04but I'm hoping that we'll be OK.

11:09A few, mate. A few.

11:11Nah.

11:14He's better. He's trained.

11:16He's still sort of...

11:19It was good to have him a couple of days away from training and everything,

11:23but he was better.

11:24He trained, anyway.

11:25Alan, we'll finish with you, please.

11:27You've touched on January being difficult months in terms of transfers.

11:32Are you waiting for another club to make that first move

11:35to create a domino effect?

11:38No, no, no. I don't think it's...

11:41You know, like...

11:44To get a deal done, you need, you know,

11:48multiple parties to come to agreement, you know,

11:51and there's so many moving parts to that.

11:53It's not just a matter of saying,

11:54well, this is the player I want, let's go get him.

11:57You've got to think about the player.

11:59You've got to think about their representatives.

12:01You've got to think about the other club.

12:03Then that club thinks about replacing that player

12:05and they've got to deal with another club.

12:07So there's multiple moving parts.

12:08So again, it's not an easy process.

12:10Like I said, so...

12:11But all you can do is, like I said,

12:15you know, work as hard as you can to try and, you know,

12:21help the situation.

12:22That's what the club's doing.

12:23Like I said, I can tell you,

12:25the club's working as hard as it possibly can

12:28to try and get some help for the playing group.

12:34But not all of it is in our power.

12:36Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

I wonder what else could possibly go wrong? - Ange (Full Presser part two)

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