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<\/p>\nAnge Postecoglou shared sympathies with Eddie Howe over Newcastle\u2019s injury woes <\/p>\n
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Ange Postecoglou admitted he had been too hard on his players during Tottenham\u2019s slump that ended with a 4-1 win over injury-ravaged Newcastle on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Newcastle have been without 11 players in recent weeks but had pulled through before back-to-back trips to Everton and Spurs proved a step too far for the tired squad.<\/p>\n
Since November 25 when the Magpies hammered Chelsea 4-1, injuries have forced Howe to select essentially the same starting XI, and against Tottenham it proved their undoing.<\/p>\n
Spurs dominated throughout while at times it looked as though Newcastle\u2019s exhausted players were running in slow motion trying to keep up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the players have given everything that they could give so I have to back them and support them but acknowledge that our performances were way off what it could be,\u201d Howe admitted after the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been backed into a very difficult position with team selection even in-game decisions. We\u2019re in a difficult position at the minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there was a glimmer of hope with the likes of Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff finally able to take their place on the bench, Howe believes he was not in a position to make changes. Sunday kicked off a period of five matches in just 13 days<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I make changes I want to make changes that benefit the team, everyone that I picked today wanted to play, they felt able to play, no issues but of course I understand the backlog and the fatigue that can build but we don\u2019t have a backlog of options so I don\u2019t know \u2013 of course we have a couple of senior professionals (on the bench) but it\u2019s difficult to make changes to a team that has played so well as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tottenham\u2019s victory lifted them out of a run of form that included four defeats in their last five matches, and rapidly losing pace with those at the top of the table, but the emphatic win ensures they finish the weekend just three points behind Manchester City.<\/p>\n
Postecoglou has been contending with extensive injury problems of his own and admitted it was probably the cause of Spurs\u2019 winless period.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been struggling a little bit with that ( the impact of players coming back) all week because we\u2019re trying to build something here and part of that is through the tough periods just not allow the lads too much latitude in terms of excuses, but the reality of it is \u2013 and I\u2019ve probably been too hard on them in retrospect \u2013 we got decimated after the Chelsea game,\u201d the Tottenham manager admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s no coincidence that now we\u2019ve started getting some players back we\u2019re starting to look a little bit \u2013 I\u2019m not going speak on Eddie Howe\u2019s behalf but I can see what he\u2019s going through and in this league you have one or two players out you\u2019re going to struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds like excuses, but that\u2019s the reality of the Premier League, you don\u2019t need analysis to see why in the last few weeks we haven\u2019t been as conclusive in our results as we were earlier in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n