Brennan Johnson came off the bench in Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool on Sunday
Tottenham Hotspur followed up back-to-back victories against Southampton and Manchester United with a miserable 6-3 defeat to Liverpool at home in the Premier League on Sunday.
It was one of the most embarrassing defeats Spurs suffered at their new stadium. The result at the weekend left the North London side 11th in the table. Ange Postecoglou has been criticised after his team’s performance against Liverpool, with ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel calling his tactics ‘crazy’.
Ange Postecoglou has preferred Dejan Kulusevski over Brennan Johnson on the right flank in recent games
-> Tottenham star’s role at club questioned amidst ‘telling’ Postecoglou decision
However, the Australian tactician and his team have to put the Liverpool defeat behind them and concentrate on the Boxing Day trip to Nottingham Forest. Speaking in his pre-match presser on Tuesday, Ange Postecoglou was asked why top scorer Brennan Johnson has been out of the first XI of late and what he needs to do to regain his spot. The Spurs gaffer stated (h/t Football London):
“Nothing more. He has to just keep doing what he is doing. Obviously, we have the balance of the team and we’ve had Deki there and Deki has done really well, scored in the last five games. It is just the balance of the team.
“Part of it is again, we don’t have a lot of options up there and it is about managing that load. We’re already overburdening a couple of players in that area, so it is good to have Brennan who we are managing through this period and he’ll play significant minutes.”
Brennan Johnson has bounced back very well after getting criticism online from certain sections of the fanbase earlier this season. In reaching ten goals across all competitions, the Wales international has already doubled his goalscoring tally from last season. This has been aided by additionally playing in the Europa League where he has scored three times, but what is more telling is that his spatial awareness and decision-making in the final have got better.
Alasdair Gold praises Postecoglou for instilling a "we-never-stop" approach at Tottenham.
Brennan Johnson is Tottenham’s top scorer with 10 goals this season
The 23-year-old was starting regularly on the right flank since Big Ange started using Dejan Kulusevski as an attacking No.8. However, with the Spurs gaffer preferring to have Kulusevski out wide on the right, Johnson has been limited to cameo appearances lately.
-> Postecoglou admits he overruled Tottenham star’s wishes against Chelsea
As the 59-year-old tactician claims it is all part of the plan to keep the players fresh and fit in a bid to avoid further injuries. With many more fixtures to play as Spurs are in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and still in the Europa League, Johnson will get plenty of opportunities to impress and achieve a personal record for goals scored in the Premier League this season.
More Tottenham News
That said, it remains to be seen whether Big Ange persists with Kulusevski on the right flank or decides to hand Johnson a start against his former employers in midweek.