Ange Postecoglou has said that he did not mind the fact that Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero had a heated exchange at half-time against Liverpool, with the Australian suggesting that it shows that the players care deeply and want to change the current situation.
With Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies both out with injuries, Emerson started at left-back at Anfield and the Brazilian had quite a torrid time up against Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian often got too much space in the final third and he was completely unmarked for the home side’s opener, managing to evade the Tottenham man’s attention to meet a cross at the back post.
Postecoglou refrained from criticising the 25-year-old, pointing out that he was not playing in his natural position.
When asked what he thought of Emerson’s performance against Liverpool, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “We’re playing him out of position and it’s kind of the way our season has gone. Whenever we’ve had injuries, invariably we’ve had them in the same part of the pitch.
“Both our left-backs are out and it’s kind of forced him out there. It’s not great for him and he’s up against a pretty good player in Mo [Salah]. Again, that’s something we have to deal with.”
Postecoglou doesn’t mind Cristian Romero Royal rumble
Various journalists, including Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle, have reported that there was a heated exchange between Emerson and Romero at half-time, with Guglielmo Vicario having to intervene to pull the pair apart.
When asked about the incident, Postecoglou said: “I didn’t see it but a few people mentioned it. As I’ve said to others, they care. It hurts them. They’re just not going to be happy with the current situation and because they care they want to improve.
“There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s done in a constructive way. Irrespective, the players I’ve been told who were involved, they care. They want to change the situation and not accept it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
These kinds of altercations happen all the time between teammates in the privacy of the dressing room or on the training ground.
One should not read too much into it and I am relatively confident that both Romero and Emerson would have put it behind them after the game, with the pair being good friends.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
