Australian coach of Tottenham Hotspurs, Ange Postecoglu clarified the situation of the 22-year-old Romanian central defender, Radu Drăgușin, after his recent poor performances.
The Romanian defender, a regular in the Romanian national team, is highly likely to start on Sunday for Spurs in the third round match of the FA Cup against Tamworth, scheduled for 14:30.
There will be several changes in the starting 11 in the game against the amateurs from Tamworth. However, these changes will not affect the center of the defense, where Radu Drăgușin and Archie Gray will certainly be on the field, the latter being only 18 years old.
During the pre-match press conference, the Australian coach took a stand against the comments that appeared in the press regarding Drăgușin, who made several mistakes in the recent Premier League matches, being criticized by the London fans.
"I have always said that some of our players are unfairly criticized due to the current situation we are going through, with many injuries. Radu is only 22 years old and is still adapting to the demands of the Premier League.
Perhaps the situation would be different if he played alongside experienced players. Instead, he has a 18-year-old player next to him who is not even a central defender. He has had three different goalkeepers or maybe even four since he joined the team. The full-backs have been changing constantly. I truly believe that he and Archie Gray have been absolutely incredible for us, considering the circumstances. And they will only benefit from this," pointed out Postecoglou.
Postecoglu also praised the Romanian after the very good match against Liverpool in the English League Cup, with a 1-0 score for Spurs in the semifinals: "He was great. He was very focused and disciplined in his cooperation with Toni Kinsky (ed.: goalkeeper), who made his debut. We are pleased with Radu and the way he is developing. He was sick last week and was not even at full capacity. He probably is one of those who need a little rest, but we have no options in his position. Every week, he is there and coping with the situation."
Tottenham is in 12th place in the Premiership, with only 24 points.
D.A.