Ange Postecoglou committed a cardinal football managerial sin last night by hammering Timo Werner, branding his performance against Rangers ‘unacceptable’.
The Germany international, a divisive figure with Spurs fans at the best of times, was hooked at half-time and replaced by Dejan Kulusevski.
Postecoglous’s decision ultimately paid dividends as Werner’s replacementscored the equaliser that kept alive his side’s hopes of automatic qualification for the next round.
The Tottenham manager’s evisceration of his wayward winger, however, stole the headlines, particularly given how blunt he was with his explanation for hooking the former Chelsea star.
‘He wasn’t playing at anywhere near the level he should be,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Timo’s first-half performance was not acceptable to me.
‘I told Timo that he’s a German international, that I need everyone to be trying to give their best and this wasn’t an acceptable example. I expect a lot more from the senior guys.’
The Australian’s damming verdict drew a stunned response, particularly given he had shied away from criticising Cristian Romero in his pre-match press conference.
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Following last weekend’s capitulation against Chelsea, the Spurs centre-half blamed his side’s problems on club chairman Daniel Levy.
Rather than admonish one of his most senior players, Postecoglou put Romero’s social media swipe down to an overly emotional response.
He said: ‘He was very emotional,’ he said of Romero’s outburst. ‘He hasn’t been able to help us on the pitch. I think that was his way of trying to help. We’re going through a tough time and he believes in what we’re doing
‘The other part [about the hierarchy], he probably went about it the wrong way. I don’t think our challenges at the moment are about one person. I haven’t and have never believed that.
‘To come through this, that’ll only happen if we remain united
‘Cristian, he realises that lot of what he said was good but some wasn’t the right way of dealing with it. The same way I wouldn’t criticise a player publicly
‘I’ve spoken to Cristian about it and he’s apologised for it. It wasn’t the right way to do it. It shows he cares. There’s a way to do it and this wasn’t it.’