Postecoglou reckons there’s ‘more to come’ from in-form Tottenham star; praises ‘mature’ newbie
Ange Postecoglou praised a couple of his standout players after Tottenham Hotspur battled to a 2-1 home victory against Everton.
After sitting top of the Premier League at the start of this season, Tottenham suffered four straight defeats between October and November to slip down the table.
Postecoglou has been heavily praised this campaign for his overhaul of Spurs and they have returned to their best in recent games.
Their 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday afternoon was their third victory in a row. Sean Dyche’s side have been a major surprise package this season but they succumbed to goals by Richarlison and Heung-Min Son.
Everton were on the front foot and Andre Gomes’ goal got them back into the game but they were beaten 2-1 after Arnaut Danjuma struck the crossbar late on.
Speaking post-match, Postecoglou reserved praise for Richarlison and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
“I think we started the game well and got ourselves in front. We got a little wasteful with the ball and some of that was because of Everon’s pressure. They work hard and make it difficult. We had to show resilience in the second half to get a result,” Postecoglou said to Premier League Productions.
“We went through that difficult spell where we got ourselves in front but didn’t end up putting the game to bed. In the context of everything we’re going through with the squad, it’s a big three points.
“We started taking too many touches on the ball and slowing the game down which played into their hands [in the second half].”
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On Richarlison: “He obviously missed a bit of football with his operation but he’s getting stronger every game. His general play has been really good but I know there’s more to come.”
On the performance of goalkeeper Vicario, he added: “He has been [strong] pretty much from the first game. Some games we haven’t needed a lot and today we did. He’s a great shot-stopper and is dealing with a different back four in lots of games. He’s got a maturity which helps the team in those moments.”
Son meanwhile claimed Tottenham “deserved three points” after doing a “fantastic job” against Everton.
“The second half you can see that 2-0 is never enough in the Premier League. Everton was pushing and we did well. The lads did a fantastic job and I’m happy to get three points. I think we deserved three points,” Son added.
“Football is sometimes going up but sometimes going down. You have to stick together. The previous week we learned a lot from our mistakes. This time we learned and showed good experience. I’m very pleased with every single player because they worked hard and deserved their spot.
