Ange Postecoglou reveals how Tamworth influenced his Tottenham XI this week

Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged that the changes that he made to the side were one of the contributing factors to Tottenham’s loss to Crystal Palace, but he has explained why playing some of his key men against the Eagles was not an option.

Following the jubilation of Thursday night when Spurs sealed passage to the final of the Europa League, they were brought back to Earth on Sunday by a well-drilled and disciplined Palace side.

The Tottenham side, which featured eight changes from the eleven that started in Norway, was second best for the majority of the game, with Oliver Glasner’s men registering a comfortable 2-0 win through a brace from Eberechi Eze.

The defeat was Spurs’ 20th loss of the league season, which is the most Tottenham have had in a single campaign in the Premier League era, with Ange Postecoglou setting an unwanted record.

Ange Postecoglou says playing key Tottenham players was not an option

The Tottenham head coach was measured in his post-match press conference, stating that the changes he made to the side did impact performance, but admitting his side should have still played better than they did.

When asked if the changes made to the team had an effect on the display, Postecoglou told Football.London: “That explains some of it but not all of it. I still felt we should have been better than we were today.

“So, I can’t totally discount the performance today on the fact that I’ve made a number of changes. We should have still been able to perform better than what we did.”

When asked if the plan was to bring Solanke and Richarlison on if Dejan Kulusevski had not gone off injured, the 59-year-old responded: “No, we weren’t going to. The last time we played on an artificial pitch with Tamworth, the game after we got two calf injuries out of it. 

“Guys like Brennan, maybe Richy and Madders, so we were never going to risk those guys today.”

Positive update on Dejan Kulusevski after Spurs scare

The Swede, who was one of just three players to keep their place in the starting eleven from the mid-week clash, was forced off with an injury in the first half after a clash with Palace defender Marc Guehi.

Tottenham fans would have had their hearts in their mouths when it happened, particularly given that James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall are already sidelined.

However, Postecoglou confirmed that Kulusevski just has a knock and revealed that the medical department are confident that he should be fit for the Europa League final.

READ MORE: Big changes expected at Tottenham this summer following a top-to-bottom review

The post Ange Postecoglou reveals how Tamworth influenced his Tottenham XI this week appeared first on Spurs Web.