Ange Postecoglou blasted Timo Werner for his performance after taking the Germany international off the pitch at half-time against Rangers.
Werner was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski who rescued a point for Tottenham with a late equalizer at Ibrox.
“He wasn't playing anywhere near the level he should be playing,” Postecoglou said when asked if the change was tactical. “When you have 18-year-olds, that's not acceptable to me. That's what I said to Timo.
'He is a senior international, he is a German international. At the moment we're in right now, it's not like we have many options.
'I want everyone to at least try to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half was not acceptable.'
Tottenham are mired in an injury crisis and need to patch up at the back, missing three centre-backs, their number one goalkeeper and two strikers.
“It's not really a concern,” Postecoglou said after taking the criticism. 'We need everyone, including him, to contribute. Because we don't have the depth to discount people when they perform poorly.
'We need them to play their role. Especially the seniors. When I ask younger guys to do big jobs. I expect a level of performance from some seniors. And today that wasn't the case.'
Overall, the Spurs boss was satisfied with a point.
“We were nowhere near our best,” Postecoglou said. 'Others must judge whether it is a fair result.
'But in the period of matches that we are fighting through, with a depleted squad, where players are asked to stand up week in week out, that is a good result.
'In the context of where we are in Europe now, with the next games in the new year giving us the opportunity to be in a better place, I think this is a pretty good point. We look back on this as an important point.'
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