In the early hours of December 23rd, a marquee match will take place in the 17th round of the English Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur hosting Liverpool. Prior to the match, Tottenham coach Postecoglou held a press conference, giving insights into the upcoming showdown and the team's recent situation.
Speaking about the League Cup draw with Liverpool, Postecoglou was confident: "To be part of this showdown is a blessing in itself. It's a match that gets the heart racing. Looking back at the history of the English League Cup, the title has been won by giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool. It's a great draw for us because we have to beat them to go further."
Responding humorously to being likened to his role in the movie Gladiator, Postecoglou said, "It was an amazing movie with a top-notch cast and my fellow Australians were in it. Soccer is more than just an entertainment, it brings incredible emotions and passion to our everyday lives. That's the real reason we love soccer."
Talking about whether he could continue his gritty form from the last game, Postecoglou said, "I'm not quite sure what the word 'gritty' means, but we'll give it our best shot, that's our philosophy of the game. Liverpool are a very good team and are in good form. Even though they did well last week with a man less, we are difficult opponents to deal with when we are on form."
Speaking about the team's injury situation, Postecoglou revealed, "Timo Werner is hoping to play but it remains to be seen. He was slightly unwell yesterday and with two days to go before the game, hopefully he will recover. Destiny's (Udoki) situation should be fine as planned."
Postecoglou was full of praise for the performance of young center back Archie Gray: "As I said before, he's been excellent. We had no choice because there was no other center back. As an 18-year-old, he has been consistent in many games against solid opposition. His inclusion has played a key role in us playing our style of soccer."
Speaking about the form of goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Postecoglou said, "There's a game on Sunday and we can't sit here worrying about Fraser. He's an experienced guy and was disappointed with last night but he's done well in all the other games. We have to move on and not dwell on the negativity. I'm sure he'll be ready for Sunday."
On his prediction for the game, Postecoglou said, "I would be very surprised if the game turned out to be 0-0. But things change, who can predict? Liverpool have a great team and are a huge threat on the attacking end. But we've scored a good number of goals ourselves and anything is possible."
Finally, Postecoglou shared his soccer philosophy "Anye Football": We want to be an attacking team, both in offense and defense. I think we have to be a little bit different to be successful in the Premier League. It's not easy, but I think it's the path we have to take. At the same time, he also said that he will not change the way the team plays because of the goalkeeper: "We will provide our players with as many tools as possible to make the right decisions on the field, but we will not protect anyone in the team by organizing the attack from the back."
