Daniel Levy wants Ange Postecoglou to plot a course through the storm at Tottenham and the chairman continues to hope the return of key players from injury can help to save a dismal Premier League season.
Levy has few viable external options that could come in for Postecoglou right away, should he wish to make the managerial change. Internally, there would be Matt Wells, the senior assistant coach, and Ryan Mason, the assistant, who has twice previously stepped up to work as interim head coach.
Spurs lost 2-1 at home against Leicester on Sunday to intensify the scrutiny on Postecoglou. It was their second successive defeat by relegation-threatened opponents after the 3-2 reverse at Everton.
Postecoglou’s team have taken five points from 11 league matches to lag 15th in the table. They are eight ahead of third-from-bottom Wolves, leading some fans to worry that Spurs might be in for a relegation battle.
It remains business as usual at the club under Postecoglou. They face Elfsborg at home on Thursday night in their final Europa League group game when they will seek to confirm direct qualification to the last 16. It has been announced that Postecoglou will meet the media as usual on Wednesday to preview the game.
Postecoglou has to be thankful that the axe has not yet fallen on him given Spurs are at one of the lowest ebbs of Levy’s 24-year chairmanship. That said, the ongoing injury crisis, especially in defence, does provide mitigation, and the team harbour hope of glory in the cups.
As well as the Europa League, Spurs are alive in the Carabao Cup, where they face Liverpool in the semi-final second leg at Anfield next Thursday, 1-0 up from the first, and there is the FA Cup, where they go to Aston Villa in the fourth round on Sunday week. That pivotal period begins this Sunday with the league trip to Brentford.
What Postecoglou also wants is support in the January transfer window; he has spoken on several occasions about the need to strengthen as he carries a list of absentees that has run into the double digits.
The club did sign the goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky at the beginning of the month to cover the injured No 1 Guglielmo Vicario. But it has been baffling as to why they have not moved for outfield reinforcements – particularly a centre-half, where they looked to be one short even at the start of the season, before Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were undermined by fitness issues.
Postecoglou’s first-choice selections in central defence came off with muscular problems in the 4-3 home defeat against Chelsea on December 8th and it has long been known they would not be able to contribute in January. Yet Postecoglou has been forced to mix and match in their absence. There will be great pressure on Romero and Van de Ven to hit the ground running when they return in February.
The January market is notoriously tough, but it is possible to add players, particularly if you are prepared to overpay, accepting that needs must.
Postecoglou has made it clear that he wants a new player for the front line and the focus at the club between now and the window closing next Monday is on making at least one signing. – Guardian
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