Ange Postecoglou has doubled down on his “assessment” of Timo Werner after singling the Tottenham winger out following Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Rangers.
Postecoglou hauled Werner off at half-time at Ibrox after an error-strewn display, and replaced him with Dejan Kulusevski, who would subsequently rescue a point for Tottenham with an equalising goal.
Asked after the game if Werner was injured, Postecoglou explained: "He wasn't playing anywhere near the level he should ... It's not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo ... His performance in the first half wasn't acceptable."
Asked whether he regrets criticising Werner in such a public nature, Postecoglou replied: “No, it wasn’t criticism. It was assessment.
“If we played poorly, we played poorly. With Timo it wasn’t about whether he played well or not. It was a difficult game last night. I’m asking 18-year-olds to do difficult jobs. He’s an international, he’s won the Champions League, he’s a senior player. There’s a level of application you need to rise to, to raise the team. He didn’t reach that.
“It’s just an assessment of his performance. On a really challenging night for us — which we knew going into it — he needs to be better.
“We’re in a fight here. I’m not going to go away worrying about people’s bruised egos. We’re here to win things. If there’s somebody in the dressing room who’s fit who feels he needs something extra in this moment, he’s probably not the right type. I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they’re not able to give extra now, it probably says something of the type.”
He added: "Criticism is saying something that’s not really helpful. Assessment is trying to give people feedback to try to make them better and give people the opportunity to improve.
"Timo is not where our season is at. It's not about Timo. It's not about bringing somebody down and blaming somebody. We've got a limited number of players. It's a great challenge. I want people who are up for that challenge."
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