Postecoglou on new signings, philosophy and facing Liverpool
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Postecoglou confirmed new signings Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel are both available. However, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero will miss the tie as they need to be "conservative" with both players.
He added that it is "disappointing" to lose Radu Dragusin for the remainder of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury so they do not want to take "risks".
Despite defensive unavailability, the Spurs boss said he is "not sure" if Danso will start the match as they have another game three days later. He said the players currently filling in at the back are "handling it well" but Danso is "ready" to come in for however many minutes he plays.
On what he said in his phone call with Tel to persuade him to join: "It's a simplistic way to look at it. People need to understand that you are talking about a 19-year-old player who has a major decision in his career. It's not that he rejected us or anyone - he was getting as much information as possible. I think he just wanted to be comfortable with his decision."
He added: "I had a conversation with him purely around football. I think he will find a good place here for his career. He will get an opportunity here - the way we play will suit him. What we have in the next few months and, more importantly, beyond, I thought he would be perfect for that next step."
Postecoglou said that Tel taking his time to decide made him "100%" confident they were getting the "right mentality and right player" who is "very ambitious".
The Spurs boss did not hold "frustration" about the late nature of signings and said he did not feel they were simply "reactive" buys as a result of their injury situation: "We wouldn't be signing 19 and 20-year-olds reactively. If it was reactive, I would be signing 35 year olds. The nature of the players we have signed shows they are not just about now, they are about us continuing to build."
Liverpool will not be "any less anxious" for the game than Tottenham as it is a "big occasion for everyone" and these are the games you want to play in otherwise "you would be at home on the couch watching instead".
On if he will tweak his philosophy for this match: "It depends what you think our philosophy is. My philosophy is to try and win games of football. If people haven't understood my philosophy after 26 years of management, I don't think anything I say now will change that."
Listen to live commentary of Liverpool v Tottenham from 20:00 GMT on Thursday on BBC Radio 5 Live
