'That's why': Ange Postecoglou confirms the reason why he subbed off Lucas Bergvall vs Coventry last night

Today at 02:55 AM

Tottenham kicked off their League Cup campaign with a 2-1 win against Coventry City, with Ange Postecoglou giving plenty of youngsters a run-out.

Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert were all named in the starting XI as the north London side came from behind to progress to the next round of the League Cup thanks to goals from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson.

With Tottenham cult hero Aaron Lennon lauding Johnson for his late finish, Spurs endured a mixed performance against their Championship opponents, with Timo Werner, in particular, struggling on the night.

And Postecoglou has now shared why he made the decision to bring off Bergvall.

Bergvall substitute was just a pre-caution after ‘outstanding’ display

Speaking to the press after the match, the Tottenham manager said taking off Bergvall was only a pre-caution given how limited the Swedish teenager’s minutes have been this season, with Postecoglou saying he wants to build up the midfielder’s fitness.

Postecoglou said when asked about the substitute: “I don’t make substitutions by poll, mate. So, I’m sure the fans have got their own opinions, but yeah, Lucas, like I said, that’s his first sort of significant game time for quite a while.

“What I didn’t want was us pushing guys over the edge today, that’s why we took Destiny off at halftime as well. We already had a couple of injuries, and I had some pretty good players on the bench that I thought could make an impact, but it doesn’t take away from Lucas’s performance.

“I thought he was outstanding tonight. They they’re going to play a lot of football for us and hopefully getting through tonight, whether it’s 90 minutes for Archie or, 60, 70 for Lucas, will put them in a good space.”

Tottenham are taking the right approach with Bergvall’s development

With just 93 minutes of football so far this season, Tottenham fans will feel like there’s a good reason to be annoyed over the lack of action Bergvall has seen despite looking impress in pre-season.

Yet it’s also easy to forget that Bergvall is still only 18-years-old and playing his first ever year in the Premier League, a division that many consider the most intense in all of Europe and the hardest to make a name for yourself.

Indeed, Tottenham are taking the right approach with Bergvall’s development by giving the Swedish international a few minutes here or there to build up his understanding of the English game, and this direction could be worth it in the years to come for the teenager.