Ange Postecoglou explained that Tottenham Hotspur’s busy schedule was the reason Son Heung-min sat on the bench against Newcastle United.
The 32-year-old rarely completes the full 90 minutes for Spurs, often being sent off towards the end of games, but has balanced Premier League duty with success in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, as well as hopping across the world to represent South Korea.
Still, it was somewhat of a surprise to see Son left out against in-form Newcastle, who overcame an early setback to drop to Dominic Solanke emerge as 2-1 winners – Anthony Gordon, in controversial circumstances, and Alexander Isak scorers for the Magpies.
Spurs have now lost half of their 20 Premier League games they have played this season and are 12th in the table. Their position is all the more extraordinary because their score at this stage of the campaign is almost identical to last season’s – 42 goals scored and one more conceded, but they are even 15 points worse.
Explaining Son’s absence, as well as the absences of James Maddison and Yves Bissoum, Postecoglou said: “Just a combination. I thought we were going to need a little bit of racing power and energy early on and as the game went on we were going to be able to use the experience of the guys that came in and I thought it worked well.
“We finished really well. We started the game really well and the only thing that stopped us wasn’t the football. That was the whole idea about it. Guys like Sonny, Biss and Maddison to a lesser extent, they’ve played a lot of football and being fresh it helps them mentally as much as physically and I thought all three of them when they came in made a real difference for us.”
The Greek-Australian was furious with the officials’ decision to award the award Newcastlefirst goal – despite replays showing the ball clearly hit Joelinton’s hand in the build-up – but refused to openly criticize referee Andy Madley, instead pointing to the fact Tottenham he would do better on a “level playing field”.
“No, because I know what everyone wants me to say, but all I will say is that on any other day, on a fair and even pitch, we would have won that game,” Postecoglou said when asked for his opinion.
“Simple. Don’t keep questioning me about the decision. If you don’t have an opinion on it, that’s fine. I know what my opinion is and, like I said, if it was a different day and it was an even and fair playing field we’d get that match.
After further questioning, he continued, “I know you just want me to say something, but I won’t. I think it’s clear. Now, whether people agree with me or not, whether it wasn’t handball or whether it was accidental, I I’m just not interested in any of that debate, what I’m saying is that any day with a fair and level playing field and logical thought processes we’d win that game, that’s it.
“You can make of it what you want. I don’t know what else to say about it.”
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