Dec 13,2024
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou did not hold back with his criticism of forward Timo Werner after a 1-1 draw at Rangers in the Europa League.
Spurs arrived in Scotland without a plethora of first-team players and looked set for a third consecutive defeat when Hamza Igamane fired the hosts in front after 47 minutes to help a raucous atmosphere at Ibrox move up a notch.
Ex-Celtic boss Postecoglou had already made his first move at half-time with the introduction of Dejan Kulusevski for Werner after an error-strewn display.
Kulusevski would subsequently rescue a point for Tottenham when he rifled into the bottom corner in the 75th minute after being set up by fellow substitute Dominic Solanke.
A point for the Premier League outfit keeps them ninth in the league phase of the competition and in a strong position to secure a top-eight finish, which earns direct entry through to the last-16, but while Postecoglou called it an "important point," he was frustrated with RB Leipzig loanee Werner.
"Yeah, just tactical. He wasn't playing anywhere near the level he should," Postecoglou said when asked about Werner being withdrawn at the break.
"It’s not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo. He is a senior international, a German international, with the moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options, I need everyone to at least be going out there and trying to give the best of themselves.
"Yeah, his performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable.
"We just need everyone, including him, to be contributing because we don’t have the depth to leave people out if they perform poorly. We need them to play their part and especially the senior guys.
"When I am asking younger guys to do massive jobs, I expect a level of performance from the senior guys and today wasn’t that."
Injuries in defence meant Postecoglou used versatile 18-year-old Archie Gray at centre-back, but the summer recruit produced a largely assured display and fellow teenager Lucas Bergvall caught the eye with a second-half cameo off the bench.
Postecoglou said of Gray: "He’s 18, big experience for him and I thought he handled the experience really well.
"As an 18-year-old, in his first year at this level, to play in unfamiliar positions in such big games, it is outstanding what he is doing.
"I thought Lucas was excellent when he came on. He was due to start tonight but wasn’t feeling well today, a bit under the weather, so we had to keep him on the bench, but that’s a positive for us.
"Those two, as 18-year-olds, to already be contributing and experiencing these things will be of enormous benefit to us."
Spurs required Fraser Forster to be at his best to leave Glasgow with a point after the former Celtic stopper made a brave block to deny Cyriel Dessers late on, which ensures the English club are in a strong position to clinch a top-eight berth with matches against Hoffenheim and Elfsborg in January.
"We weren’t anywhere near our best I think it is fair to say, but at the same time we’re in a period of games where we’re grinding through it with a fairly depleted squad and asking players to get up week in, week out," Postecoglou acknowledged.
"I thought we worked our way back into the game well and the subs coming on made a difference. We scored a good goal, had a couple of other moments, but in the end, a great save by Frase gets us, in the context of where we are in Europe, an important point."
Meanwhile, Rangers manager Phillipe Clement was bouyed by the result, arguing it showed Scottish football in a good light on the European stage.
Rangers remain in eighth place in the table with 11 points from 18 – Spurs are behind on goal difference – with two fixtures remaining and still on course for the knockout stages.
"To dare to play in that way against Tottenham without belief is impossible. If there’s one player on the pitch who doubts about it, everything falls apart.
"So the belief is there already for quite a while. It’s about doing it every time, doing it every three days.
"That culture we need to create in the team, that thing we need to create also with their bodies to become strong like that, to do it every three days. So yeah, that’s a job we have to do with all staff.
"But you see that everybody buys into the story and that you see also really good football.
"I don’t think it was only important for Rangers.
"I think it’s also important for Scottish football that people see that there’s good football being played in Scotland also.
"To compete with a top side from the Premier League, it’s a massive thing."
