Spurs crashed out on penalties against Fulham (Picture: Getty)Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has justified his team selection in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup exit against Fulham, while he brushed off claims that Spurs’ new third kit was to blame.
The Australian coach made nine alterations from the lineup that defeated Bournemouth over the weekend, with only Micky van de Ven and Richarlison retaining their places in the starting XI.
Tottenham struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages of the game and fell behind in the 19th minute when Tom Cairney outwitted Davinson Sanchez and saw his low cross deflected into the net via the unfortunate Van de Ven.
The team’s performance improved in the second half, with Richarlison getting his first goal of the season with a clinical header, and they had opportunities to win the match outright but ultimately had to settle for a penalty shootout.
Backup goalkeeper Fraser Forster had no chance of saving any of Fulham’s attempts, while Sanchez saw his effort denied, with Kenny Tete converting to send the Cottagers into the third round.
It has been 15 years since Tottenham last lifted a trophy, and many supporters were unhappy with Postecoglou’s decision to field so many fringe players, but the former Celtic boss believed it was important to give them a chance.
When asked if he should have given more priority to the Carabao Cup, he responded: ‘It is my main focus, but there is no European football, so how else am I going to assess our players?
Spurs were eliminated 5-3 on penalties by Fulham (Picture: Getty)’What other opportunity do I have to do that apart from playing games? They are all part of our club. We believed they could bring a different dynamic tonight, and that doesn’t mean the cup or any game is not important to us.
‘From my perspective, we are still in the exploratory phase, so we need to find out and give the players a chance to contribute. Because that’s why they’re here – they’re not just here to make up the numbers. They continue to work hard and deserve the opportunity to go out and play tonight.’
Tottenham wore their newly released third kit against Fulham – a color officially described as ‘taupe haze’ – and there were suggestions that the players had difficulty distinguishing their teammates in the dull color.
Tottenham’s recently released third kit doesn’t exactly stand out (Picture: Getty)More: Trending
However, Postecoglou did not believe it was a factor and had a grin on his face when asked about the ‘visibility of the shirt’ potentially being an issue.
Slightly caught off guard by the question, Postecoglou replied: ‘Um, okay. I don’t know, to be honest, that’s a genuine question. That’s my honest answer. I’m not really sure. I don’t think it would have had a significant impact.
‘I think part of it is, like I said, when there isn’t familiarity within a team function, guys who haven’t played with each other for three games, there won’t be the same fluency that we have seen. That’s understandable.
‘But again, that’s part of the process we’re in. We need to find out about our players, learn about the group, the character, and the personality, and, I don’t know, maybe we need to assess our abilities to match colors. Was it cappuccino? Nice.’
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First appear at Ange Postecoglou defends Tottenham team selection in Carabao Cup exit and laughs off claims new kit was to blame
