Ange Postecoglou press conference: Southampton vs Tottenham

Postecoglou was asked if he had “any regrets about the public nature” of his comments about Timo Werner’s performance at Rangers on Thursday: “It wasn’t criticism – it was an assessment of his performance. On a really challenging night for us, which we knew going into it, he needs to be better.”

Asked about Werner’s response, Postecoglou said: “I’ve got no time for that sort of stuff any more. Collectively, we’re in a fight here. I’m not going to go around worrying about people’s bruised egos. This football club wants to achieve things and be successful.”

He continued: “We’re down to the bare bones in players. If there’s somebody in that dressing room who is fit and able to contribute that feels like he needs something extra at this moment, he’s probably not the right type. I need guys, and we had some last night who understand the situation we’re in. We’ve got 15 fit players, so I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they don’t give extra right now, it kind of gives me an indication of where they’re at.”

Later in the news conference, Postecoglou said: “I get that everything’s about Timo, but Timo’s not where our season is at. It’s not about Timo – it’s about who we are and the situation we’re in right now. If somebody else doesn’t perform to their levels in the situation we’re in, we’re going to suffer for it because we’ve only got a certain amount of players.”

He added: “It’s not about bringing somebody down or blaming someone. We’ve got a limited amount of players, we’re really stretched, we’ve got big games that can set up our season and it’s a great challenge. I want people who are up for that challenge and relishing the opportunity to be out there. This is not a time for us to be worried about people’s mindset.”

Spurs’ injury list has created opportunities for youngsters such as Archie Gray to play more regularly. Asked about how that will affect their development, Postecoglou said: “You don’t want it by design but it will bear fruit for us. If we’d had a smoother season, they probably wouldn’t have played as much. Archie has been asked to play unfamiliar positions and the way he’s handling it is outstanding.”

On Southampton: “They’ve played some pretty exciting and effective football against very good teams. I think Russell [Martin] will be frustrated that they haven’t been able to sustain it or get rewards for it. The good stuff you do gets diminished because people invariably look at the outcome, which is fair enough, but I think some of the football they’ve played has been as good as anyone this year.”