Soccer

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou jokes that he 'just copied Pep mate'

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou jokes that he ‘just copied Pep mate’ when asked about his flying full-backs after 2-0 win away at Bournemouth

  • Tottenham came away from the Vitality Stadium 2-0 winners vs Bournemouth 
  • James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski both scored in a confident Spurs win
  • WATCH: It’s All Coming Up – Mail Sport’s preview show for the weekend’s football

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has jokingly said he ‘just copied Pep’ when asked about his use of full-backs moving into the midfield.

Speaking on TNT Sports to Peter Crouch and Joe Cole after Spurs 2-0 win away at Bournemouth, Postecoglou was asked about the success he’s seen in using full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie as inverted midfielders. 

Man City boss Guardiola has made this tactic famous in the Premier League, a move that has also since been seen by the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. 

Postecoglou spoke about fullbacks being confident in a system that allows them to make these kinds of decisions.

The Australian joked: ‘I just copied Pep mate! we do a lot of work on it. It is sometimes about instincts but it’s trying to create a system that’s as fluid as can be.

Ange Postecoglou celebrates Tottenham’s clinical 2-0 win away at the Vitality Stadium 

James Maddison opened the scoring neatly and pulled out a trademark darts celebration

Your browser does not support iframes.

‘If there’s space there forget you’re a full back, you’re footballer in space so go into the space and then its up to us to make sure we’re covering the gaps that are left.’

Tottenham put on a classy display in their game away at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth.

James Maddison put the finishing touch on a beautiful team move involving all three starting midfielders to open the scoring, before Dejan Kulusevski doubled Spurs lead to ensure they took all three points home.

Postecoglou hugs his fullback Pedro Porro after another excellent display by the Spaniard

Pep Guardiola is known for his experimental tactics, particularly his use of fullbacks in midfield

Postecoglou continued to stress the strengths of his two fullbacks and the freedom he is trying to implement throughout the team.  

The Spurs boss insisted: ‘Once players realise they have the freedom to do that but it’s still very structured then they don’t second guess themselves. 

‘They just say if there’s space inside I’ll just go and drive in there. 

‘Both Pedro (Porro) and Destiny (Udogie), when they have the ball and are running with it, are really difficult to stop and if it’s in a central area it makes it more effective for us.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.


Source: Read Full Article