Ange Postecoglou admits that it was not ideal to hand Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel their Spurs debuts so soon after their arrival and gives an honest assessment of the pair’s display in the semifinal.
New faces have a tough introduction to life at Spurs
Tottenham did not even put up a fight in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal, with Liverpool brushing them aside 4-0 to sail into the final.
Ange Postecoglou‘s men are missing nine first-team players at the moment due to injuries, which meant that Kevin Danso went straight into the starting lineup after arriving at the club last weekend from Lens.
Richarlison picked up another injury towards the end of the first half which meant that Mathys Tel was introduced early into the game.
It was not a debut that either player would want to remember as the Lilywhites struggled to even lay a glove on Liverpool, who ran riot at Anfield.
Ange Postecoglou reacts to Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel’s Spurs debuts
Postecoglou has now confessed that he ideally would have wanted Danso and Tel to have a few more training sessions with the side before playing, but the club’s injury circumstances forced his hand.
The Tottenham head coach was pleased with what he saw from the pair in their first runout for the side.
When asked what he thought of Tel’s and Danso’s performance, Postecoglou responded (via Football.London): “Yeah, they did OK. Kevin was really positive, as was Mathys. It’s hard, you know, throwing guys in after their first training sessions, it’s not ideal.
“That’s part of our dilemma at the moment of trying to get some fluency and consistency but also knowing we have to keep tinkering with the starting lineup to account for everything going on. But I thought they acquitted themselves well.”
Mathys Tel will now have a key role at Spurs
We are still waiting for confirmation about the nature and seriousness of Richarlison’s injury, but given the Brazilian’s fitness record, the signs are not promising.
With Dominic Solanke now also out of action, Postecoglou will have to rely on Tel to lead the line over the next few weeks.
The Frenchman needs to hit the ground running for Tottenham to somehow turn their campaign around and end it with some amount of respectability.