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Postecoglou on squad fitness, Bergvall and returning to his style of play

Postecoglou on squad fitness, Bergvall and returning to his style of play

BBC News14-03-2025

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at Fulham (13:30 GMT).Here are the key lines from his news conference:Postecoglou said his squad is looking "pretty good" before the trip to Craven Cottage and everyone who played in Thursday's Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar "got through it well".Rodrigo Bentancur is available for selection after being suspended on Thursday, while Fraser Forster, Antonin Kinsky, Sergio Reguilon and Timo Werner are also all back after being ineligible in Europe.Kevin Danso, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison remain sidelined by injury.Postecoglou said he thinks his side are returning to playing in the style he wants: "That's coincided with a couple of significant things. One is getting some players back and also the ability to rotate the team and keep the team fresh. We're getting our good ball players on the ball and looking sharp in the final third. Those things help us play the football we want to play and hopefully we can do it more consistently now."On Lucas Bergvall's improved discipline: "He's had to work on that. It's fair to say, when he first got here, the coaches spent a lot of time with him, working on his tactical awareness and being disciplined. At the start it took him a little bit of time. He tended to run too much. He's simplified his game and the coaches have given him feedback and he's taken that on board."Postecoglou praised James Maddison and Djed Spence after they were not included in the England squad: "Madders, in a really challenging season for us, has grinded his way through and his quality has really come through in the last few weeks - especially when we have been able to give him a spell of rest every now and then."On Spence: "Djed has been super this year. I always feel with these things, particularly with national team selection, it's never a kind of thing where you just draw a line through it. I have no doubt if Djed keeps performing how he is and Madders keeps working hard, Thomas [Tuchel] will be looking."Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary of Fulham v Tottenham at 13:30 on SundayFollow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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