Ange Postecoglou to sympathize with the injury-affected struggles of Manchester United while Tottenham fought for a 1-0 win on Sunday.
United was without people like Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo, Manuel Ugarte and Lisandro Martinez when the 13th minute finish of James Maddison turned out to be the difference in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Maddison himself just returned from an injury when Postecoglou's team problems started to illuminate, with Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson all back in gold.
Some had called Tottenham to dismiss and form Postecoglou during their injury, but they have now achieved back-to-back victories in the Premier League for the second time this campaign.
The Australian boss admitted that he could understand the challenges of Ruben Amorim with a lack of players who are available, but says that he did not get such a sympathy during the similar issues of Tottenham.
Asked if he had sympathy for Amorim, Postecoglou said: “If I check my office, I don't have any sympathy cards from other managers. So I can tell you that that didn't happen.
“But there is absolutely empathy there. I see today that Ruben has put together a team, played players from position, had children on the couch …
“Welcome to my world. But that's for one competition. Do that for two months now. Every club, do that for two months.
“I thought man Utd was good today, is all considering that. We had our days that we were good. We defeated Liverpool, we had other important victories. But do that for two months.”
A challenging Postecoglou's Lot may have been helped by United's fitness problems, with Victor Lindelof the only senior player called on Amorim's Youth Bank.
The United boss chose to use Casemiro in the role of Hold-Midfield, next to Bruno Fernandes in a deeper than usual position, although Pundit Gary Neville was far from impressed by their efforts.
Speaking about Sky Sports Duty, the former United Defender said: “We just said about the distance between the two central midfield players. Look where Casemiro is and where Bruno Fernandes is.
“That can't be true. It breaks all the rules in football. Look at them – absolute madness, that.
“They can score goals, but the structure of the team is terrible. The gaps in that midfield, that is a tactical thing – they are told to do. Bruno Fernandes plays the right. It is embarrassing.
“You would not see this in football under 9 or under 10s. There is a reason for it. It is because of what [Joshua] Zirkzee did it against Newcastle when he kept coming to one side.
“What Amorim said is:” You stay within it “. But that means that it is impossible for them to be two behind … That space in midfield there. It is shocking.”
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