Ange Postecoglou was furious with Tottenham forward Timo Werner (Image: Getty)
performed a drastic U-turn on a pledge he made only days ago when he slammed forward performance against Rangers. The Australian was furious with the German, who had been brutally substituted at half-time, and bluntly labelled his display as ‘unacceptable’.
Werner struggled in the 1-1 draw with the Scottish Premiership side. Postecoglou went as far as implying that the former had not given maximum effort at Ibrox.
“He wasn’t playing anywhere near the levels he can. When you’ve got 18-year-olds, it’s not acceptable to me. I told him that. He’s a senior international, a German international,” Postecoglou said after Dejan Kulusevski, who replaced Werner, salvaged a draw in the Europa League.
“In the moment we’re in now, I need everyone to be at least going out there and giving the best they can. What he produced wasn’t acceptable. When I’m asking the younger players to do massive jobs, I expect more from the senior players like him.”
It was an extraordinary outburst from the usually diplomatic coach. However, it was made all the more remarkable because Postecoglou had said only days earlier that he would never publicly criticise a player.
The 59-year-old had been asked for his thoughts on public criticism by defender Cristian Romero, who told a South American publication that Spurs’ lack of transfer business had held them back in recent years.
Romero, who is currently injured, pointed out that Spurs’ rivals strengthen their squad every summer and reap the benefits. was the only player above the age of 20 to arrive at the Stadium ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Postecoglou condemned the public nature of Romero’s comments. He said he would not slam one of his own players in public.
Timo Werner was hauled off at half-time during Tottenham’s draw with Rangers (Image: Getty)
“To come through this, that’ll only happen if we remain united. Cristian, he realises that a lot of what he said was good but some wasn’t the right way of dealing with it. The same way I wouldn’t criticise a player publicly,” Postecoglou said.
“I’ve spoken to Cristian about it and he’s apologised for it. It wasn’t the right way to do it. It shows he cares. There’s a way to do it and this wasn’t it.”
Kulusevski replaced a confidence-stricken Werner at half-time and went on to score the equaliser, cancelling out Hamza Igamane’s opener. It remains to be seen how Werner fits back into Postecoglou’s plans.