Kulusevski defends under-fire Postecoglou, reveals reason for Spurs’ bad form

Dejan Kulusevski has defended under-fire head coach Ange Postecoglou and said Spurs are “paying the price” for not having enough available players.

Tottenham Hotspur currently occupy the 15th spot on the Premier League table after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Leicester extended their winless run to seven games. With fans pointing fingers at Postecoglou, Kulusevski insists their injury crisis is the reason for their poor results.

Speaking ahead of the Elfsborg game, during which Spurs will look to seal their passage to the last 16, Kulusevski acknowledged their Premier League form has been “very bad” but insisted the context of their absentee list is key.

“Opinions change,” he said when asked about recent criticism of manager and players.

“I don’t listen to no one because I know the truth and I see the truth from my side. It is not important what people say. It has never been, actually.

“The league is very bad and the game on Sunday was tough to lose but you have to stay clear-minded and focus on the goals.

“We have made mistakes, don’t get me wrong. We have made a lot of mistakes.

“But we are 11 fit players, or 10 fit players, in four competitions. That’s not OK and that’s why the team is paying the price, in the league especially.

“You can look at the manager, you can look at the players. But I think it’s bigger than that. It’s everything involved.”

Ange Postecoglou needs positive results to save his job. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

He continued: “We play three games a week with nine or 10 players. That’s all I need to say, it’s nothing more than that.

“I think everybody has got to watch the picture and ask themselves how we came this far. That’s it.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” he added when asked if the squad is not big enough.

“We are 11 players playing three games a week for a long period. I don’t see any other team doing that. That’s the only thing we should look at.”

Kulusevski added that Postecoglou is the right man to lead Tottenham through this difficult period and agreed with his manager’s assertion that Spurs could still achieve “something special” this season.

“Yeah I agree with him,” he said. “Three cups, we’re doing really well in the cups. I think we can do big things in these last four months.”

Tottenham’s injury list has stretched into double figures in recent weeks, though Micky van de Ven is in line to return from a hamstring problem in Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Elfsborg, James Maddison is the latest name on the injury list with a calf strain.