‘He’s always been ready’ – Ange Postecoglou backs player to step up to start for Spurs
Ange Postecoglou has said that Eric Dier has been training hard from the start of the season and backed the central defender to prove his worth over the coming weeks. Right from the start of the season, Spurs fans had fears about how the team would cope without one of Micky van de Ven and […]
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Ange Postecoglou has said that Eric Dier has been training hard from the start of the season and backed the central defender to prove his worth over the coming weeks.
Right from the start of the season, Spurs fans had fears about how the team would cope without one of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
The Lilywhites now have the unenviable task of being without both the Argentine and the Dutchman at the same time after the former was sent off against Chelsea and the latter picked up a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out of action until at least January (Telegraph).
(Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
Eric Dier is set to start his first Premier League match this season
However, Postecoglou insisted that he has full faith in Dier, admitting that the 29-year-old’s experience will prove crucial over the coming weeks.
The Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “Eric has been part of this football club for a very long time. Every day he’s another one who has trained hard, he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities but that’s because we’ve been pretty settled in terms of our back four and we haven’t had the need to put him in there.
“He’s always been ready to be called up. Now he gets the opportunity. I thought he did well the other night. It was a hard game to come into. Firstly, he’s come on with ten men and then he’s playing with nine men. As a defender, you know there are going to be some challenges there.
“I thought he handled it really well. His experience will be important for us, particularly with Micky’s absence and Romero being out for three games. His experience will be important to us.”
It remains to be seen who will partner Dier at centre-half against Wolves, with Postecoglou having a choice between the experienced Ben Davies, Emerson Royal or turning 18-year-old summer signing Ashley Phillips.
When asked if Phillips is ready to play, the Australian responded: “Ash is part of the first team. He trains every day. He’s available for selection. If he gets an opportunity, then it will be up to him. I’m not going to manufacture things for people. Everything they get, they earn.
“If they are selected I think it’s because I think they can help us win. If they’re not selected, they have to keep working hard and wait for their opportunity.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I have no doubt that Ange will start with a Dier and Davies centre-back partnership with Emerson Royal likely to play at left-back. It will be interesting to see if the Australian makes a slight tactical modification by asking the backline to play slightly deeper than usual, given the pace that Wolves have in their forward line.
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