'Do better' – Ange Postecoglou dismayed by new nickname for young Tottenham stars
10/04/2024 05:51 AM
Ange Postecoglou reserved high praise for his four teenage stars but quickly dismissed the proposed 'Ange's Angel's' tagline.
The Tottenham boss was delighted after his young line up showed no fear in Thursday's 2-1 Europa League victory at Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
Goals from Pape Matar Sarr and a fifth-consecutive goal for Brennan Johnson ensured Spurs continued their 100 per cent start to the competition.
Postecoglou handed full debuts to academy stars Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear and both combined to set up Sarr's 23rd-minute opener.
Summer signings Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray were also given spots in the starting XI and Postecoglou was delighted with the quartet's contributions.
However, when asked whether the youngsters could adopt the name Ange's Angels in a similar fashion to the Busby Babes and Fergie's Fledglings, Postecoglou laughed: "No, no, no, you've got to do better than that. No chance.
"The first thing is that they're part of our first team squad, not because I want some young players, it's because they've earned that spot.
"Then it's about how to help them develop and the moments we need to put them in there, the moments we need to hold off. And we can't discount the fact that Archie is 18, Lucas is 18.
"I thought Archie was brilliant. We asked him to play in two different positions and it's incredible how he just adjusts and he's able to bring his game to wherever we put him.
"Lucas worked hard and Will was unlucky with a couple of moments when we could have got a goal.
"These guys are there because they've earned their spot but they're an important part of our development.
"Whilst we want to be a team that has an impact this year, it's like I said before, it's important we're developing players along the way so that whatever sort of period of potential for success or opportunity for success exists, it's elongated because of the young players you got through."
Postecoglou reserved special praise for 17-year-old Moore who is viewed as a huge prospect for the future.
Moore became Tottenham's youngest-ever Premier League appearance maker in May when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in the game against Manchester City.
"I thought Mikey was outstanding. It's brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90-plus minutes in a European away tie," Postecoglou said.
"He just handled it superbly, I kind of knew he would and I think it'll help his growth as a footballer once you get through an experience like that.
"I think he'll grow and evolve and I didn't feel like I needed to take him off. He still looked strong at the end and was still contributing.
"If you look at the Premier League, how many 17-year-olds are actually contributing and Mikey is already, which shows that he's got something special but we've just got to be really careful about how we develop that."
