Ange Postecoglou is holding his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Tottenham's Premier League clash against Newcastle United on Saturday lunch time.
Spurs have had the luxury of six whole days to recover for this match with their only midweek free of a game in around three months and Postecoglou gave his players two days off to recover earlier in the week. He could still have up to 10 players unavailable on Saturday to face Eddie Howe's man but at least those players who are fit have managed to recharge for a change.
Postecoglou will deliver the latest update on Destiny Udogie's hamstring injury suffered against Wolves with the early suggestions that the young Italian left-back could miss up to eight weeks of action. The Tottenham boss will also give the latest on Richarlison and Mikey Moore's return to training and whether either of them or both could be involved on the bench against in-form Newcastle.
The Australian desperately needs new faces to bolster his threadbare squad and Postecoglou will also give an update on the club's transfer activity and when he and the Spurs supporters can expect new faces.
Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Postecoglou ahead of the match. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.
Here's every word Ange Postecoglou said
You can find the full transcript with every single word the Tottenham boss said by heading right here or scroll down for some highlights.
Is Postecoglou glad to see the back of 2024?
No, because then you dismiss all the good stuff. You know 2024 which I know right now people don’t recognise as anything but we finished fifth last year. We finished eighth the year before and people keep forgetting that. I didn’t pick up a club that finished third or fifth. Even though the back end of last year was a struggle for us, I thought it was still a real positive season on the back of what we had to do in terms of player turnover because we lost some significant players. I enjoyed 2024, it was a big challenge for us and yes it didn’t finish well, but that’s the case for every year; all of us have challenges within it. I guess going into 2025 now it is about making this year better than the last, but that should be the aim every year.
Postecoglou on whether he thinks selling/loaning clubs will think Spurs are desperate
Yeah, I think that is the tricky bit around January. Whether that is Spurs or anyone else, if anyone is looking to supplement in January, usually it is because of some sort of need. Most clubs don’t plan for January reinforcements and that’s why January is always tricky. Not just for us but all clubs. You can still hopefully find some common ground where you can get the right kind of player to come in and help the playing group at the moment because they do need that support. The club is working as hard as it possibly can, trust me. They are not having New Year parties, they are out there working trying to improve our situation and they’ll continue to do so.
The Spurs boss on whether this needs to be a busy transfer window
No, I just want it to be a positive one, that's the main thing, it's not about being busy, like I said, it's about being positive because, you know, the reality is, like I said, the situation we're in at the moment is temporary, we'll get players back and god willing, with a bit of luck, we'll keep them back and do the right things and we'll be strong from then on.
So we just need it to be a positive window where like I said, that's where we've got to be disciplined and make sure the ones we can bring in, if they do come in, they're going to fit in with our playing style, but also culturally and are coming here for the right reasons, I still think that's important.
Postecoglou on whether this is happening because he should have had a bigger squad to begin with
Look, some of it, but some of it's just circumstances, some of it's just, and I know we always want a head on a stick and we want somebody to blame, and there's always somebody at fault, but some of it's just life, mate, you know, football is like life and you know how sometimes in life you get one thing go wrong and you get another thing later on, and you're doing nothing different, you're just going 'why is it always me at the moment?'.
And you know what, it's all temporary, you get through it, and for us, some of it we understand is a consequence of the situation we're in in terms of fixtures, the way we play, but some of it's just the way...you know. We lost Djed with a red card and he was supposed to start over Destiny. Destiny starts doesn't get the rest, and then...it's like that's just life and sometimes no one's at blame, no-one's at fault, you know, it's just, we're going through a bad trot, but it is temporary, we'll get through it. We'll analyse areas we can improve in and move forward from there.
The Spurs boss on the timeline for Yang Min-hyeok
No real plan at the moment. Just let him settle. He is still very young and has come in from the other side of the world where the level of competition is nowhere near what he is going to face here. We will just give him time to adapt. It helps that Sonny is here and kind of helps him around when he is at the club and outside the club. We are just trying to get him settled early and give him the chance to settle in. No real plan, we will just take it as it goes with him and see how he settles in.
Postecoglou on pushing for transfers
It’s not a matter of pushing but the club are working hard to get help for the playing group. It's no secret we need to bolster numbers. January is not an easy month, we understand. At same time want to make sure we do the best thing for us rather than panic and bring in people who aren’t going to be a suitable fit.
On whether a new signing is imminent: "I don't know. Could be imminent, could not be imminent."
Postecoglou on team news
Destiny his hamstring. Looks around six weeks for him. We lose Bentancur suspended. None of the injured ones are back yet. We've had a bit of an illness bug with a few not training.
At this stage Richy and Mikey Moore are the next cabs off the rank, we're hoping next week. Ben, Micky and Romero all kind of around the same time, back end of January.
Postecoglou also confirmed that Vicario is still out until the end of February.
Tottenham's young players have been scoring some special goals
There seems to be a theme right now with Spurs' young players, especially the ones on loan, and you can find all about that by going right here.
Here are the games that Udogie could miss
You can find the full list of matches that the young Italian could miss with his hamstring injury by going right here.
Destiny Udogie is set to be out for a while
You can find the latest on Destiny Udogie and what his injury means for Tottenham's transfer window by heading right here.
Welcome to Hotspur Way
Ange Postecoglou will be with us shortly to discuss tomorrow's match against Newcastle United and the latest on the injury front for the beleagured boss.
