Postecoglou urges solution to team's poor form

The 24th round of the 2024/25 Premier League will stage another focus game, and the "Lily Whites" Tottenham Hotspur will travel to challenge the "Bees" Brentford. Coach Postecoglou said that Brentford is a very difficult opponent, but at the same time, the team must solve the problem of poor form in recent times.

In the last round of the league, Tottenham Hotspur took the lead with a goal contributed by Richarlison, but conceded goals in the second half and eventually lost 1-2 to Leicester at home. Currently, Tottenham Hotspur ranks 15th in the standings with 24 points, and has only achieved 1 draw and 4 losses in the past 5 rounds.

The better news is that Tottenham Hotspur defeated Wolfsburg 3-0 in the 8th round of the UEFA Europa League earlier and advanced to the round of 16 with a 4th place.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Postecoglou said at the press conference, "Playing at Brentford's home is a tough challenge for any team, and their home record is very good. But our form in the league is not ideal, which we need to improve. So no matter who the opponent is this weekend, especially after last week's performance and results, we must address this problem."

“We still have a lot of chances and potential to be successful this season, but we have to improve in the league. It will be a difficult away game, but we need to put in a good performance and show our true quality.”

When asked if Van der Ven was ready to play the full 90 minutes, Postecoglou said, "We will observe and maybe not the full 90 minutes, mainly because of the short recovery time. He felt very good in the last game and it is great to have him back on the field. He is a good player, but until he actually returns, you will realize how good he is. Not only his personal impact, but his return also has a positive impact on the team."

"All the players saw that his morale improved a lot after he came on the court. He was in good form and felt good after the game. Our plan is to let him continue to get some game time and then gradually increase his game time."

As for Lucas Bergivall's performance, Postecoglou said, "He is a talented player, but like all young players, he made some mistakes early in the game, and then tried to make up for them, which put himself in trouble and his play became a little complicated. Our message was clear, which was to calm him down, simplify his game and find the rhythm again."

“But even when he made mistakes, Lucas Bergivall kept trying and never stopped running, which was a huge advantage for him. This game might have been a big one for him, against a team from his own country, but that’s why we put these young players through the paces. The more they experience this kind of challenge, the better they will be able to handle similar situations in the future.”