Ange Postecoglou says it is no surprise that Tottenham Hotspur is again winning ways to return their injured players to fitness, after they have moved to the quarterfinals of the Europa League with victory over AZ Alkmaar.
Tottenham was able to start with both Micky van de Ven and the Cristian Romero in the heart of their defense for the first time since a 4-3 home defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League in December for their crucial last-16 second-leg draw with AZ.
The couple helped the hosts to beat the Eedivisie side 3-1 in the night (3-2 on aggregated) to set up a quarterfinals with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Postecoglou quickly on the importance of finally to see some of his injured stars play again.
“It is no coincidence that we get some of our most important players back,” he said after the game. “The boys also get a considerable recovery between games.
“I can change the team a little. Don't forget, Sonny [Heung-Min Son] And [James] Maddison did not start at the weekend [in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth]. We can do these things with which we can prepare the team well. “
With the last eight meeting with Frankfurt, Postecoglou now has a crucial time to build the fitness levels of those recurring players.
“We looked more like ourselves, but we still have levels to go because I still think boys like Romero, Micky, Wilson [Odobert]Stupid [Solanke] And all these guys are still building back to match fitness and match sharpness, “he added.
“That's why they are here, they are quality players. Romero and Micky make such a big difference for us and you saw Wilson, we hardly had him this year, what a super talent he is.
“I think it is almost three and a half weeks away with the quarterfinals, it is a great opportunity for us to inform these guys about that game.”
In general, the Australian was happy with how his players performed one night when the pressure was really on the hosts, with their season at stake that both domestic cup matches had left, while they are getting away in 13th place in the Premier League.
“I am super satisfied that we progressed, which was the most important thing, also reasonably well played, we really had control of the game, but we are sometimes our own worst enemy,” he said.
“When we had control, we left them back in the game and it was a bit nervy towards the end, but we deserved it thoroughly to make progress.
“We were in control of the majority, played some good football, played in their half, they hardly created a chance on goal, we then got our goals, but gave a stupid goal after a mix and it became a little nervy.
“We got a good third, had the chance to get a fourth and kill the game, but it is a European draw, everyone is on sharp and we wanted to claim and that is what we did.
“We scored a great goal from the press and started the second half really well, really had to put the draw in the first 15-20 minutes, but super satisfied for the boys.”
Maddison: We have not achieved anything yet
After scoring Spurs' second goal of the night, Maddison insisted on his teammates to build on the result during the last months of the season.
“It is what we wanted to do at the start of the two legs. There was a lot of talk after last week's performance and we were honest with ourselves, we were not good enough,” he said TNT Sports.
“I knew where we were here for our fans and we did the job.
“We have not achieved anything yet, we are in the quarterfinals and we kick up and look forward to it.
“In recent months when we have talked about injuries and missing important players, then we are in the tunnel tonight and you look at the team and it is a group of men. If you have the backs of players who are experienced and have played for a long time, it makes a difference.
“Micky [Van de Ven] and cuti [Romero]Solid at the back and it was a solid version and we are justified.
“Wilson Odobert will get the headlines tonight and rightly, two goals and he was a threat, and I thought he was absolutely fantastic. I'm going to give him a big pat on the back.”
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