‘That’s all we do’ – Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou left baffled by Eric Dier’s assessment of his training methods
ANGE POSTECOGLOU has fired back at Eric Dier after he claimed the Tottenham boss “doesn’t do any tactical work” during training.
Dier, 30, fell down the pecking order once Postecoglou, 58, was appointed at Spurs last summer and that led to a mere four Premier League appearances this season.
The versatile defender was thus shipped out on loan at Bayern Munich in January and he has since turned a corner with a total of 13 appearances already under his belt.
The England international then opened up about his experience working under the Aussie tactician and suggested his tactical work leaves much to be desired.
Dier previously said when asked whether Postecoglou is the most tactically aware manager he has worked with: “No, interestingly, he really doesn’t do any tactical work.
“What he does is, every single training drill from Monday to Friday is drawn up to represent the way that he wants to play.
“[Antonio] Conte, I could do it blind, but that was a lot of tactical work Monday to Friday, a lot of 10 versus zero, walkthroughs. You were so well drilled, it would be ingrained in you.”
However, Postecoglou hit back at Dier, who is expected to be signed permanently by Bayern in June, insisting he completely focuses on tactics during training.
And that has paid off as Tottenham are chasing a top-four finish in the ex-Celtic boss’ debut season in north London.
Postecoglou responded: “I don’t know what you mean by tactical work.
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“Everything we do is geared on how we are going to play our football, so for me by extension is tactical work.
“Whether that’s on us, or whether it’s on the opposition. In fact I would probably say we don’t do anything apart from tactical work.
“That’s all we do every day. If we’re working on our fitness, we’re still trying to play our football.
“But I haven’t seen the interview so I’m not sure what he’s referencing.
“If you’re talking about do we do training where we’re standing around and working on how we’re going to stop an opposition, how we’re going to break down, no we don’t do that.
“But I don’t think that’s the only kind of tactical work that exists. I think anyone who trains with us will tell you that all we do is train the way we play. Maybe that’s not tactical work, I don’t know!”
This one will have stung Kane the most... what's the German for schadenfreude?, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
OF all the trophies Harry Kane has missed out on, this one will have stung the most.
This was supposed to have been a dead cert. This was nailed-on.
Bayern Munich had won 11 successive Bundesliga titles, so when the England captain signed for the great Bavarian powerhouse last summer, we all said: “Well, at least he’ll finally win something.”
Yet on Sunday evening, there were Bayer Leverkusen — known in Germany as ‘Neverkusen’ because they hadn’t previously won the league thanks to several late implosions — cavorting around, 16 points clear, unbeaten in all competitions and confirmed as champions with five games to spare.
And so the greatest trophy curse in footballing history continues.
And this one really is freakish because Leverkusen’s story is almost as extraordinary as Leicester City’s miracle title in 2015-16 — the season when Kane won his first Premier League Golden Boot and Tottenham ended up ‘third in a two-horse race’ behind Arsenal.
Kane is always the runner-up, always the nearly man, always the fall guy, too often a figure of fun for those taking pleasure in the misfortune of others.
Does anyone know the German word for schadenfreude…?
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