Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham’s injury crisis is a warning for football and fears the situation will not improve unless clubs are allowed to deal with an increasingly packed schedule by building bigger squads.
Spurs are at breaking point before they face Hoffenheim in their penultimate game of the first phase of the Europa League on Thursday, with only 13 first-team players travelling to Germany. Pape Matar Sarr is the latest to succumb to injury and with Sergio Reguilón, Yang Min-hyeok, Djed Spence and Antonin Kinsky ineligible, Postecoglou is short of options for a game that will have a big say on whether his team skip the playoff round for the knockout stage by finishing in the top eight.
“We’ve been hit the hardest but it is becoming more prevalent,” the under-pressure Spurs manager said.
“If you look at the teams in Europe, even last year Newcastle really suffered, and Villa to a certain extent this year. You really need a strong squad and to keep them healthy to cope with playing in Europe if you do well in the cup competitions like we have – because it’s not manageable when you’ve got three games a week for the length of time we have.
“Some of it is because we’ve done well in the Carabao Cup and that’s added extra games. People may look at us and think it’s a unique case. It’s very extreme but I don’t think it will be as uncommon as people think as we move along. There’s some warning signs there for others.”
Postecoglou, whose job security is waning after a desperate run, rejected the idea that Spurs need to adjust their recruitment strategy. “If you’re going to play this much football you should be increasing squad numbers,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what strategies you put in place. If you want to compete at this level and happen to do well in all competitions there’s no other way to counteract it.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of the club’s strategy or recruiting. It’s just the sheer numbers, a scenario where we’ve got limited numbers for all competitions. You’ve got to factor international football into that. It’s not like they get a break between seasons. The calendar’s really ramped up. In the last five years the game has changed a lot from the previous 50 years. There’s going to be some issues if the game keeps changing this quickly.”
Postecoglou was unsure if Spurs, who are ninth in the Europa League standings, will make any more signings before the transfer window shuts. The focus is on beating Hoffenheim, who are enduring a dreadful season. They are 17th in the Bundesliga and in danger of making an early exit from Europe.
However, the German side may see vulnerability in Spurs, who could be forced to use Archie Gray at left-back with Destiny Udogie, Spence and Reguilón unavailable. Gray has played in a variety of positions this season and tThe 18‑year‑old midfielder struggled as part of a back three during the defeat against Everton on Sunday, but insists his confidence remains intact.
“I don’t think any negative will ever shake me,” heGray said. “I spoke to my dad after the game and he just said you’ve got to learn from these things – if you want to be a footballer, you’re going to have those games and you’ve got to learn from them.”
