Ange Postecoglou admits Kulusevski injury has scared him into big Tottenham decision

Having been burned by losing Dejan Kulusevski to an injury, Ange Postecoglou has hinted that he is not prepared to risk too many key players this evening at Villa Park, just five days ahead of the Europa League final.

The Tottenham boss faces a big dilemma ahead of the final: On the one hand, some of his key players have not played at all since the second leg of the semifinal against Bodo/Glimt. Those players could thus be a little rusty going straight into the final on the back of no football for two weeks.

On the other hand, the Australian found out the risk of allowing his key men to get some minutes in their legs, with Dejan Kulusevski picking up an injury against Crystal Palace, which has ruled him out of the big clash at Bilbao.

Ange Postecoglou will not take any risks at Aston Villa

The Spurs head coach is thus stuck between a rock and a hard place, and admitting that under normal circumstances, he would give minutes to his key men in the Premier League clash this evening.

However, Postecoglou acknowledged that Tottenham are not in a position to take any more risks ahead of the final after already losing Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison over recent weeks.

When asked if we could see some of his first-choice eleven feature at Villa Park, he responded (via Football.London): “Look, in a normal world you use this for sharpening up, but we’re not living in a normal world. That’s the reality of our existence at the moment, where we can’t lose another player to an injury.

“It’s just too finely balanced for us considering what’s at stake. Villa are obviously going for Champions League football, and you see how important it is to them, and we’re doing the same.”

Postecoglou insists Tottenham are not hurting the integrity of the Premier League

Some understandably feel that the integrity of the Premier League is compromised by the fact that the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Man United are playing weakened sides.

Tottenham’s opponents, Aston Villa, are involved in a race for Champions League qualification, and some have pointed out that they would have an advantage, given that they will be playing a makeshift Spurs side.

When this question was posted to Postecoglou, he responded: “I’m not sure what people are talking about when they talk about the integrity of the game – I don’t know what that means.

“We have certainly put out teams this year that because of our injury situation were not the strongest we needed to put out there but we still needed to play those games and it’s the same with other clubs.

“I don’t even know why that question is being asked if I’m honest because if anyone thinks we are going to go out there and not do our absolute best to win – that’s the only time when integrity gets questioned.

“When we played Man City last year and apparently I was in the wrong for trying to win a game of football that’s where integrity comes into it, that’s why I was so strong on it.

“When you put a line-up out there you are trying to win a game of football but at the same time every club has got its own interests and you have to prioritise what’s important for your club.

“Champions League is very important for all those clubs fighting for it at the moment, I can see how important it is and every game and every decision is crucial but we are in exactly the same boat.

“We have got Champions League qualification plus a trophy to win. It would be negligent of me if I wasn’t doing the best thing for our football club to make sure we achieve that.”

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