'I think Ange': Julen Lopetegui has shared his honest opinion on Tottenham and their manager
Today at 02:15 AM
Tottenham Hotspur are set to host West Ham United in their return to Premier League action after the October international break.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs will lock horns against Julen Lopetegui‘s Hammers in Saturday’s 12:30pm kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Both Tottenham and West Ham have shown glimpses of quality this season but they’ll be eager to kick on as neither side is exactly flying high.
Spurs have dominated many of their opponents, but defensive errors and a lack of consistency in attack have led to them sitting ninth in the table.
Meanwhile, the Hammers currently sit 12th and have just two wins to their name in the league this term, though their last result was a resounding 4-1 win over Ipswich.
Lopetegui, speaking to the West Ham media team, has now shared his thoughts on Tottenham and their manager ahead of the match.
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui says Ange Postecoglou has made Tottenham better
The Hammers boss says he likes how Spurs are faring under Postecoglou because of how much he has improved them.
“I think Ange changed a lot of things in their team,” he said.
“In my opinion, he made their players and team better and that’s why I like to see this team. They work together.
“But we have to put the focus on us and have an answer because we have to be on it to get the win.
“Our fans will demand the best from us and this is a good thing. They support us always, so we have to be ready to play well, be a strong and solid team and to beat them there.
“It’s not easy, but we will try to do it.”
Lopetegui responds when asked how he’d beat Tottenham high line
Lopetegui was also asked how he would try to defeat Tottenham and their high line but, understandably, he didn’t give the game away.
“Tottenham are a very compact, very narrow team, very aggressive and we have to be able to beat this kind of team,” he said in a different article on the Hammers website.
“They do a lot of very good things, but I prefer to put the focus on what we have to do. For me that is more important.
“We will try to use our decisions too. We will try to beat this kind of situation playing well, understanding each moment and playing out of mini-matches well.
“Tottenham is a team that has a lot of big intensity always and we have to be ready to have the right answers, but I won't talk about tactics here!”
READ MORE: What Tottenham are planning to do after Real Madrid's interest in Pedro Porro
Tottenham v West Ham team news
Lopetegui has confirmed that Niclas Fullkrug is set to be out due to “complications” relating to an injury in his calf and Achilles area.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have an almost clean bill of health. Wilson Odobert is the only player who will be missing for Spurs as he’s still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Tottenham v West Ham match officials
Referee: Andy Madley
Assistant Referees: Nick Hopton & Wade Smith
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Mat Wilkes
