Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou says that he certainly didn’t bring Radu in to be an understudy. I brought him in to have competition for Micky and Cuti and for him himself.
01/11/2024
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
01/11/2024
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Is it a case with your team that you have first-choice players that the house is pushing, or is this a big chance thing?
00:22No, look, I've never thought that way. What I believe brings out the best in people is competition. I really do. And I'd hate to think any player in that dressing room thinks that, you know, they feel like, oh, you know, I'm part of this first team.
00:36I certainly don't have that environment. And if you ask any player that I've ever coached, that's probably the first thing they'll say. They don't really know where they stand with me. And I certainly didn't bring Radu in to be an understudy.
00:50I brought him in to have competition for Miki and Kuti and for him himself. Because, again, if he went to Bayern Munich, he wouldn't be guaranteed football either. They've got probably more centre-halves than we have.
01:05He was leaving where he was, where he was playing regularly, for that challenge. And I think that's how it has to be. So, yeah, now he plays and he has an opportunity. And if he keeps improving his performances, I hope that'll push Romero along, I hope he pushes Miki along.
01:20I think we've seen it in the midfield. I think both Biss and Bentancourt this year have been outstanding because every time they play, they set a really high level and I think they're pushing each other. And ideally, that's what I want all over the place. I think healthy competition is how you get maximum performance.
01:37So I've never felt like, oh, well, he's the number one or that's my preferred line-up. I purposely don't give that idea to players so that they're constantly thinking about, well, I need to keep getting better or else somebody will get past me.