Ange Postecoglou reveals why Tottenham could reach new heights against Eintracht Frankfurt
Ange Postecoglou admitted that Tottenham Hotspur looked like their old selves in the second leg against AZ Alkmaar after the return of key players, and the Australian has explained why the Lilywhites could be in even better shape when the quarterfinal comes around.
Tottenham’s season was hinging on them overcoming their 1-0 deficit against Alkmaar from the first leg and sealing progression to the final eight.
Fortunately, Spurs’ big names players turned up on the big occasion and ensured that they were able to turn the tie around, with the Lilywhites overcoming the Eredivisie side 3-1 in the second leg to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The result keeps Tottenham’s dream of winning silverware alive, and Spurs fans will love what Postecoglou has said ahead of the big showdown with the Bundesliga side next month.
Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham stars at their peak
Postecolgou was not surprised that Tottenham looked more like their usual selves on Thursday, given that the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke were in the starting eleven.
The 59-year-old pointed out that Spurs can be an ever more formidable side in the quarterfinal as those big-name players will have three more weeks to get up to speed ahead of the Frankfurt clash.
When asked if Tottenham looked more like themselves on Thursday, Postecoglou told Football.London: “Yeah, well it’s no coincidence. We’re getting some of our key players back and of course, we are [looking like ourselves]. We’ve got guys who are getting decent recovery between games and we can change the team a fair bit. Don’t forget Sonny and Madders didn’t start at the weekend.
“We can do these things that allow us to prepare the team properly. We did look more like ourselves but we’ve still got levels to go, because I still think players like Romero, Micky and Wilson and Dom and all these guys are still building their way up to match fitness and match sharpness.
“With the quarter-final being three-and-a-half weeks away, there’s an opportunity for us to get these guys up to speed for that game.”
Postecoglou pleased with how Spurs handled the pressure
The Tottenham head coach explained that his players had to be a bit cautious at the start of the game as they could not afford to go 2-0 down in the tie.
Postecoglou praised his players for the way they coped with the pressure and stood up to the challenge, but he admitted that his side perhaps lost a bit of composure in the final 10 minutes of the game.
When asked what pleased him most about the performance, the Australian responded: “Yeah, really liked the way the boys addressed the challenge tonight. It’s not easy when you’re 1-0 down before the game starts. You know you don’t want to give the opposition any opportunity to get a further advantage. I thought we started the game really well.
“Really composed and controlled. We didn’t create a lot but at the same time we just had them camped in their half and they didn’t really venture anywhere near our goal. Scored a really good goal from our press.
“And second-half started brilliantly, exactly what we wanted to do, got our goal, and then we gave them a goal. That puts the tie again on edge a little bit. But I thought our response to that was really good, scored another good goal, and probably should have got another one or two to finish the game off.
“We probably didn’t handle the last 10 minutes very well. But at the same time when I’m having to change the backline so much, at such a critical time, it’s going to disrupt us. Again I thought at the big moments, the boys stood up well. Really pleased, they did a fantastic job to get us through.”
READ MORE: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s huge European win over AZ Alkmaar
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