Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media after our 6-3 loss against Liverpool in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Here's what he had to say...
Ange's view on the performance...
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"Look, it was a difficult day for us and a painful result. Credit to Liverpool, they are a very good side and are in a great moment. They are very settled, great form, great belief. It was just a bridge too far for us today. You could tell we were lacking a little bit of energy and the ability to really compete with them at the same level."
On sticking to his style of football...
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"I think I have been really patient the last 18 months sitting up here answering the same questions over and over again. If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change. We are doing it for a reason, we are doing it because we think it will help us to be successful. If people don’t understand the circumstances we are in at the moment, the challenges we have from a team and squad perspective which are as obvious as you want to make them. I get the idea that people think that I should just flip a switch and change and somehow that will miraculously make us a different team. It is what it is. I’m just going to continue staying focused on trying to build this team to be the team we want. In the interim, we are going to have accept there are going to be challenges along the way."
On comparing our team, if we're at full strength, with this Liverpool team...
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"I don’t know because we are still growing as a team and we are 18 months into building a new team with a new way of playing. It’s fair to say we have had some challenges along the way, considering the availability, particularly at the moment, so it is very hard to see where we are at. What I will say is the players are not wavering in their commitment to what we are trying to do. Even today, on a difficult day, I’m really proud of the fact they still tried to play a certain way, knowing that is our way forward."
On Dejan Kulusevski's form, and adding goals to his game...
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"I think Deki's been outstanding all year. That's probably the next part of his game, not that he's never had it, but he's adding it now where he's been really clean with his finishing. It's a credit to him. He's taken his game to another level. I think a few of the boys have to be fair. It's probably not as evident at the moment because we're in a difficult situation."
On getting through the games over the festive period with the same group of players...
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"We've been doing that for the last three weeks. Pretty much after the City game, we had a look at it and we knew this would be our toughest period, for sure. The effort the players are putting in... we've had shorter turnarounds than just about every opponent we've played so far, at least one less day than every team we've played whether it's here or in Europe. I haven't been able to change the team, rest players, rotate players. I have massive admiration for the efforts these players are putting in for this club at the moment. We know what a difficult situation it is and that's not going to change in the short-term. We've just got to push on."