The Tottenham boss confirmed that the last injury casual
Ange Postecoglou insists that he will no longer take fitness gokbles – because Tottenham's own Champions League is at stake. Postecoglou angry every idea that he damages the 'integrity' of the Premier League by placing a potentially weakened team in Aston Villa.
The Tottenham boss confirmed that the last injury casualty Dejan Kulusevski is out for “months” with a knee injury after he played against Crystal Palace last Sunday and now spurs less than a week from their Europa League final with Manchester United. Postecoglou was a reminder that Tottenham could possibly win their first trophy in 17 years and also earn a passport in the Champions League of next season.
Villa still chases a place in the top five with people like Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle, so that they will all look at Tottenham with interest. Postecoglou said: “Villa is clearly going for Champions League football and you can see how important it is for them and we do the same.
“Look, in a normal world you would use this to sharpen yourself, but we do not live in a normal world. That is the reality of our existence when we cannot lose another player to an injury. It is just too nice in balance for us to consider what is at stake.
“That seems to be our destiny right now and even with the best planning, we are still touched by these setbacks and from my perspective I have to take this into account when considering the game.”
Postecoglou doubled the accusations about 'integrity' and was a reminder of how some fans wanted to lose against Manchester City last season as it meant that Bitter Rivals Arsenal won the title.
Postecoglou added: “I am not sure what people talk about when they talk about the integrity of the game – I don't know what that means. We certainly postponed teams this year that because of our injury situation was not the strongest we needed, but we still had to play those games and it is the same with other clubs.
“I don't even know why that question is asked if I am honest, because if someone thinks we are going outside and not doing our best to win – that is the only time that integrity is questioned.
“When we played Man City last year and apparently I was wrong because I tried to win a football match, where integrity comes in, that's why I was so strong.
“When you place a line-up there, you try to win a football game, but at the same time every club has its own interests and you have to prioritize what is important for your club.
“Champions League is very important for all those clubs that are currently fighting for it, I can see how important it is and every match and every decision is crucial, but we are in exactly the same boat. We have the Champions League qualification plus a trophy to win. It would be possible to be the best for our football club.”
Become a member of our new man utd WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose Manchester United -content of Mirror Football. We also deal with our members of the community on special offers, promotions and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can view every time you like. If you are curious, you can read our privacy statement.