Ange Postecoglou is not concerned about ill discipline derailing Tottenham’s season, despite his options being depleted by suspensions to Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie ahead of Saturday’s clash with Everton.
Tottenham have responded to a run of five Premier League games without a win by posting back-to-back victories over Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
With Manchester City not in Premier League action this weekend due to their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup, another win over the Toffees will take Spurs into the top four.
However, they will be without two regular starters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Bissouma starting a four-match ban after being sent off for a reckless lunge on Ryan Yates last time out – his second red card in the Premier League this season.
Left-back Udogie, meanwhile, will miss one match after accumulating five yellow cards, having also been sent off in a chaotic 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last month, a game which also saw Cristian Romero see red.
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Only Liverpool have matched Spurs’ tally of four red cards in the Premier League this season, but Postecoglou feels his players will learn from serving their suspensions.
“Obviously it is something that is not great for us because it is costing us during games, it is costing us post-games,” Postecoglou said on Friday.
“Players are well aware of the impact those things have and I’m sure they will learn from those experiences.
“My experience in football is that the best remedy for those kinds of things is players missing out. If they feel they are missing out on something then it brings them into line pretty quickly.
“Hopefully we keep winning and the guys who miss out learn their lesson that way.
“We had some results that weren’t great and we were on a poor run but even through that, I thought our performances were still strong. They were really determined to not let this derail our season.”
Preparing for Saturday ????
???? #TOTEVE pic.twitter.com/uHoN7JXR3c
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 21, 2023
Romero and midfielder Pape Sarr are both one booking away from a ban and must watch their step over the festive period, with Spurs set to face Brighton and Hove Albion on December 28 and Bournemouth three days later.
In more positive news, Postecoglou will be able to call upon Brennan Johnson and Giovani Lo Celso, with both players able to train this week after being considered doubtful for Saturday’s game.
“Yeah Brennan’s fine, he’s trained all week,” Postecoglou told the club’s media channels in an injury update.
“We’ll get Gio Lo Celso back, he’s trained and he’s available. Obviously we lose the two lads with suspensions from last week, but everyone else is okay.”
On long-term absentees James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, Postecoglou added: “They’re progressing but they’re nowhere near being in the reckoning for any first-team duties.”
Ange provides the latest team news ahead of #TOTEVE ????️ pic.twitter.com/d0hmPd3e8l
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 22, 2023
