Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has decided to give first team players ‘three or four’ days off ahead of clashes with Manchester United and Ipswich Town, despite a recent rotten run of form for the north London outfit.

Spurs were dumped out of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup in just a few days last week following defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa. Postecoglou’s side have won just two of their last eight top flight outings and languish 14th in the top flight. Spurs will look to bounce back against Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday before making the trip to struggling Ipswich Town next weekend.

Advertisement

Despite the unconvincing performances against Liverpool and Aston Villa, Postecoglou has confirmed that first team stars will be given days away from training after a hectic fixture schedule. The club has been hit with an injury crisis this season, meaning that fully fit players have racked up the minutes and needed to work double time.

Postecoglou gives Spurs stars days off

Tottenham Hotspur don’t have a midweek game since the turn of the year and Postecoglou confirmed that players would be allowed to recover as a result. He said: “I am just going to keep working like I have. We’ve got to give them some time off in the early part of the week.

“The boys who are coming back we have got an opportunity to give them a full week of training which is great. Come Tuesday, we should have three or four who have been missing. We can give them a full week of training rather than just throwing them in.

“By the time we get to the end of the week we will have something resembling a squad of players to prepare for a big game. That folds into the following week because again we have got seven days to prepare for the next game.

Advertisement

“That gives us a good opportunity to get some work into the guys who have been out for a while and give some rest of the guys who have been going at it. By the time we get back to Europe and midweek games, we will be in much better shape.”

Tottenham Hotspur hope for injury boost against Man Utd

Following that time to recover, Tottenham Hotspur are expected to welcome back several injured players for the meeting with Manchester United. A total of five first team stars could return to face the Red Devils.

Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner are all pushing for a return to full training this week and Postecoglou is confident that will provide a ‘reset’ for his beleaguered side.

Speaking after defeat to Aston Villa, Postecoglou said: “Two and a half months of asking 18-year-olds and 17-year-olds and senior players, with no rest, to play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday.

Advertisement

“If you think that is not at all a factor of how this team is performing then there’s nothing else I can say. There’s nothing else I can explain.”

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.