Tottenham breaking wrong records to end 2024 but judgement on Ange Postecoglou should wait | OneFootball

Crucial upcoming run with a more rested squad could prove crucial for Postecoglou’s future at Spurs

As 2024 draws to a close, the statistics make for grim reading for Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou and the club.

Hee-chan Hwang's early strike means Postecoglou's side went 1-0 down for the 15th home game in 2024, the most ever by a Premier League team in a calendar year, while Jorgen Strand Larsen's late equaliser left Spurs without a win in five straight matches in north London – again, their worst run since 2008.

There are, of course, mitigating factors to Spurs' wretched form. Rebuilds are always tough, while Postecoglou has been dealing with an unprecedented injury crisis – which he has described as the worst of his 28-year coaching career – since the start of winter.

The head coach was without seven first-team players on Sunday and had "no choice" but to start Radu Dragusin for the 14th time in 15 games, despite the centre-half picking up an ankle complaint in the defeat at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.

Spurs finished the match with a back five of veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Pedro Porro, Dragusin, teenager Archie Gray and Sergio Reguilon, who was making his first league appearance for the club since April 2022.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are on a run of two wins in 10 matches

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Postecoglou again pointed to fatigue as a factor in another frustrating result and suggested his side might have scored four if they had been at their sharpest.

"We're not as sharp as we can be, which is understandable because we're asking a lot of a sort of small core group of players," he said.

An unceasing Thursday-Sunday schedule is rough enough on clubs with deep squads but it is punishing when significant numbers are missing, and watching Spurs play at half-pace at the City Ground and fade in the second half against Wolves, Postecoglou has a point.

The question for the embattled Australian is whether a rare week off – Spurs' first since August, excluding international breaks – before another home game against Newcastle on Saturday can act as a circuit-breaker and change the pattern of an increasingly miserable league campaign.

Postecoglou will give his entire squad Monday and Tuesday off "to get away from everything and recover" and will hope to welcome back a refreshed group of players ahead of what feels like a crucial week in his tenure.

After Newcastle, Spurs host Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and then visit non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup third-round.

Postecoglou's approach relies on fresh legs – notably the relentless pressing from the front, which is so key to chance creation – and the hope is that a week off will revitalise Spurs, leaving them better-equipped to play 'Ange-ball'.

Postecoglou remains convinced that if only he had less tired players and more options, Spurs could "go on a run" and surge back to a position in the table more befitting of their stature.

The hope is that a week off will revitalise Spurs, leaving them better-equipped to play 'Ange-ball'

"We've already shown this year we can beat anyone," he said.

The games against Newcastle and league leaders Liverpool, who are likely to rotate their squad, will put that theory to the test; Postecoglou's selection problems may get worse before they get better (more on that below) but he should have a refreshed core group next week, so fatigue can no longer be an excuse.

There is also a chance that forwards Richarlison and Mikey Moore will return to bench next weekend following extended periods on the sidelines, easing the pressure on the front three and particularly captain Heung-min Son, who appears low on confidence and energy after missing a first-half penalty against Wolves.

Spurs may even have added to their squad before the game, with Postecoglou using his post-match press conference to call for "help for these players" in January.

Destiny Udogie could add to Spurs’ injury problems

REUTERS

That said, Rodrigo Bentancur, who cancelled out Hwang's goal with a thumping header, is suspended for Newcastle after a late booking; James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr are banned for Liverpool; and Destiny Udogie is the latest defender facing a spell on the sidelines.

The Italian will be assessed on Monday after pulling up clutching his hamstring at the start of the second half against Wolves.

"We just haven't had the ability to rotate so at some point it was going to catch up with us," Postecoglou said. "Unfortunately it caught up with Destiny."

There is a case that Postecoglou's decisions have contributed to Spurs' injury crisis and he has not always played a difficult hand well this season.

However, given the nature of his football and the relentlessness of the schedule, it feels fairer to judge Postecoglou on the performances and results of a rested squad, starting next weekend, rather than the efforts of the exhausted group which limped through the festive period.