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Under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou defended his injury-hit squad after stinging criticism for their meek League Cup semi-final exit to Liverpool.
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Spurs were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield on Friday (AEDT), throwing away a 1-0 first leg advantage without even registering a single shot on target.
Former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp claimed he had never seen a side “in my lifetime go down with less of a fight”.
Defeat ramped up the pressure on Postecoglou, whose future is uncertain with Tottenham languishing in 14th in the Premier League.
The Australian promised earlier in the campaign to maintain his record of winning a trophy in his second season at multiple clubs.
However, Spurs have not lifted any silverware since 2008.
Next up they face a tough trip to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round.
“I get the pile-on at the moment, it’s really easy for people to stick their boots in and question the players but I don’t question,” said Postecoglou.
“We were disappointed last night didn’t go the way we wanted and we didn’t perform at the levels – but that doesn’t define this group of players in my eyes.
“We’ll go out there on Sunday and put out more of a performance that reflects where we’re at. I have a great deal of belief in these players and what they’re going through and how they’re dealing with it.”
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Postecoglou’s mitigation for a dreadful run of results has been a lengthy injury list that has deprived him of a number of key players.
Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke were among those to miss the defeat to Liverpool, while Richarlison hobbled off in the first half at Anfield.
Postecoglou confirmed that none of those will return for the tie at Villa Park, but is hopeful the injury situation will improve for their next Premier League game against Manchester United in nine days’ time.
“Every time I’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s usually been an oncoming train,” added Postecoglou.
“We’re still hopeful we’ll get two or three back for the Manchester United game.
“We’ve got two full weeks of training and we should get the majority of these players back with a bit of luck, providing we don’t lose anyone else.”
Villa could unleash new signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio for their debuts on Sunday after securing loan moves from United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively in the final days of the transfer window.