Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham would have lost Europa League final without their own Roy Keane
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham Hotspur would have not have won the Europa League if not for one much-maligned player.
Tottenham find themselves in a serious mess at the moment, which the club have tasked Igor Tudor with solving.
The decision to replace Ange Postecoglou with Thomas Frank last summer misfired badly for the club, with the Dane lasting just eight months in the job and leaving the Lilywhites just five points off the drop zone.
Some have suggested that Frank was let down by one senior Tottenham man over recent weeks, but Postecoglou has now suggested that the same player was primarily responsible for the club’s Europa League triumph.
Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham players ‘fear’ Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero has been blasted for his recent antics, with some accusing him of thinking he is bigger than Tottenham.
However, Postecoglou has now defended the Spurs captain, labelling him a ‘winner’ and explaining that he is feared and respected by his teammates.
When asked about Romero, the former Tottenham head coach said on The Overlap: “I love him. He plays on the edge, but, mate, he’d scare people at training, and I love the way he talks. I mean, would you rather have Roy [Keane] in your team or against you?
“We would never win that final without Romero. Kickoff is about to happen, and he’s taken our team into Man United’s half for the huddle, because our supporters are down that end. He’s not scared of anything, mate. He’s a winner, and I love winners.
“Now, does he cross the line? Yeah, he does. He crossed the line of training sometimes, and the coaches go, ‘oh, you know? well, you go tell him, I’m not telling him,’ but you need that mentality in a group. Now, how you control it? You need to harness that.”
When Gary Neville asked if the Spurs players liked the defender, the Australian responded: “They fear him. You’ve got to remember his whole existence is not just Tottenham, he’s also an Argentinian international. He’s won a World Cup, and he’s mixing with players.
“I think part of his frustration, his outburst about the club is that he’s mixing with a [Bruno] Fernandez or Martinez, and he’s saying, ‘well, how come they’re signing players to win, and we’re not?. Why I want to win.”
Postecoglou’s admission shows Romero’s importance to Spurs
Romero has come in for plenty of criticism for his lack of discipline, with many pundits suggesting that the Argentine is a liability.
In fact, there have been repeated calls for Spurs to strip the Argentine of the captaincy and to drop him from the side.
However, Postecoglou’s admission about the 27-year-old and the respect he receives in the Spurs dressing room is another reminder of just how important a figure the centre-back is to this team.
The post Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham would have lost Europa League final without their own Roy Keane appeared first on Spurs Web.