Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Christmas Eve, ahead of our Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Boxing Day (3pm UK).
Here's what he had to say...
Ange on our latest team news...
-------------------------------
"From the Liverpool game, as far as I’m aware, no issues. Destiny was on the bench, obviously wasn’t 100%, but should be right for the next game. Bentancur is available after his suspension. That’s kind of it at the moment."
On stats vs position in the Premier League - have we been unlucky?
------------------------------------------------------------------
"No, I don’t think you feel unlucky. Over the course of a season, you’d like to think it all evens out. There are circumstances to where we’re at in terms of position in the table. A lot of that is down to inconsistency in performances, sometimes inconsistency in games, but also inconsistency in the kind of team we can put out there. All those things have damaged our ability to get into a stronger position in the league but, as you said, and I’ve said all along, I still think there’s growth in the team. I still think there’s positive things within what we’re doing. Notwithstanding that, we need to improve our position."
On January's transfer window...
-------------------------------
"Like I said a while ago, we've been planning. A lot of it was going to be around where we're at around this time. Fair to say, we're still a little bit short in a couple of areas and we need to reinforce. January's trickier in terms of what sort of players you can bring in. For us, ideally, for any club, I guess, you want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger. I think the fact that, obviously, we're still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, still got Europe, FA Cup, we're in all the competitions, it's not like our schedule's going to ease up at any stage. So, I think it makes sense. We will try and reinforce, where and what number we'll have to wait and see."
On Rodrigo Bentancur's return from suspension...
------------------------------------------------
"It's good to have him back. He's been working hard at training. In terms of Boxing Day, we'll see, but certainly just to have an extra body... I think what the players have had to deal with, the core group of players over the last sort of three weeks or so, has been very, very demanding on them. Most of them have got through it pretty well, in terms of not getting any more injuries, thankfully for us. It'll be nice to have just some ability to rotate some players and even make substitutions in games that hopefully will help us."
On a reaction after Sunday's loss to Liverpool...
-------------------------------------------------
"I still feel like the players, and I see that they have still got real belief in what we are doing. It is difficult because it is a tough day for the supporters, the players and for all the people who work so hard at the club. From my perspective, I take responsibility for that, because I am the one charting this course for us. It’s all hopefully for a greater purpose. What I try to reiterate is that it's all hopefully for a greater purpose. And, again, that's my ultimate responsibility, to try and bring success to the club. In the meantime, it's not nice seeing the players out there doing everything in their power to try and get a result, but obviously with the situation we're in, there are limits to what they can do. So, you feel, I certainly feel, that responsibility. As disappointed as they are, they're still very, very determined to continue."
On Forest...
------------
"I think when they went up to the Premier League, it seemed like there was a lot of transfer activity at Nottingham, I think there needed to be, but within that you could tell they had recruited some quality. It was just a matter of allowing that to sort of settle in and I guess finding the right way forward in terms of how they play, and since Nuno's got in from the back end last year, you could tell that, you know, they were all sort of now playing in a way I think that suited them. The team's growing all the time. They've got some quality players in there and they're having a really good season, particularly at their place, it's going to be a great challenge for us."