Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
- Tottenham have won just one of their last seven league matches and sit in 11th
- Postecoglou has had to deal with an extensive injury list in the last few months
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! , available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Tottenham‘s preparations for the visit of Newcastle have been disrupted by illness within the squad, manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.
Spurs head into the clash in the bottom half of the Premier League table after a dismal run of form has left them 11 points off the top four.
They face a Newcastle side who have won their last five matches in all competitions, conceding only one goal in that run.
Postecoglou’s team have been riddled with injuries this campaign, with key defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero missing the festive period after going off in a 4-3 loss to Chelsea in early December.
And now the Australian boss will potentially have to deal with some more absentees after a sickness bug forced some players to miss training.
‘None of the injured ones are back yet,’ said Postecoglou. ‘We’ve had a bit of an illness bug around the squad so a few were missing from training but we’ll be alright.’
Ange Postecoglou has revealed that his Tottenham squad has been hit by a sickness bug
Many stars missed training on Friday but Postecoglou did not reveal which players were absent
Spurs, who sit in the bottom half of the Premier League, host in-form Newcastle on Saturday
While Tottenham will be without both Van de Ven and Romero this weekend, Postecoglou did confirm that they are expected back in training next week.
He continued: ‘At this stage, Richy and Mikey Moore are the two next cabs off the rank, hopefully next week at some point.
‘Ben (Davies), Micky van de Ven, Romero all around the same time, the back end of January they’re slated to return.
‘Destiny obviously with his hamstring looks around the six-week mark for him missing.’
Spurs will also be without Rodrigo Bentancur this weekend due to suspension after the midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card in his second game back following a seven-match league ban.
However, Saturday lunchtime will see the return of Jed Spence, who missed the Wolves draw through suspension.
Tottenham have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches, picking up just five points in that time.
The string of poor results has ramped up the pressure on Postecoglou. Nevertheless, Mail Sport understands Postecoglou’s position remains safe for now.
Micky van de Ven (left) and Cristian Romero (right) will return to the training pitches next week
Tottenham have won just one of their last seven Premier League games and sit down in 11th place
Despite knowing his job is secure for the time being, Postecoglou admitted how much the bad run is affecting him.
‘It hurts me because I’m ultimately responsible,’ said Postecoglou after Tottenham’s draw at home to Wolves. I’m the person in charge. So of course, it hurts.
‘When I see how hard they are trying, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward and I think they deserved a reward for their efforts even though they were dipping into their reserves of energy.
I wanted them to get a reward for their efforts. So of course, it hurts. It hurts immensely. At the same time, it’s my responsibility for where we’re at right now and it’s my responsibility to try to get us out of it.’
