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Under-fire Tottenham boss Postecoglou finally breaks silence on EFL boss’ injury jibe with brutal 10-word response
The EFL boss has since apologised to Ange Postecoglou
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ANGE POSTECOGLOU hit back at Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens after his tongue-in-cheek comment about Tottenham's injury crisis.
Spurs have tumbled down to 14th place in the Premier League table amid a turbulent campaign that has seen manager Postecoglou losing a raft of key players to injury.
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Dominic Solanke, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert, Fraser Forster Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Radu Dragusin are all sidelined.
The Aussie tactician has often pointed to that continuous problem after a series of poor results, and management appear to agree with him as he still has their support.
But Wellens, 44, decided to poke some fun on Postecoglou after his team's 1-0 defeat to Stockport last week at Brisbane Road after their own injury crisis got worse.
Asked if injuries were to blame for the defeat, Wellens responded: “I'm not Ange Postecoglou and keep using it as an excuse.”
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Postecoglou caught wind of that jibe and addressed it after Tottenham saw their Carabao Cup hopes go up in flames by Liverpool who beat them 4-0 at Anfield on Thursday in the semi-finals.
The ex-Celtic boss was very brief but extremely direct when he stated Wellens had his "five minutes".
Postecoglou said: "I don't know how it's a narrative when you are just stating facts.
"If people don't see a situation where you are missing something significant there is nothing I can say to that.
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"If they say, 'Well, that shouldn't really make a difference' I don't know how to answer that.
"I get that people's senses get dulled or people get bored - everyone wants a bit of drama. But that's not drama, that's just stating facts.
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"We have been missing some really key players for a long time and have had to deal with that. Whether people see that as significant or not…
"If people think I'm trying to create a story out of nothing I don't know what to say about that. And as for other managers, mate, he's had his five minutes so lets move on."
Asked if Wellens had contacted him to apologise personally, Postecoglou responded: "He's had his five minutes, that's good enough for me.”
Wellens, though, did apologise for his "stupid comment" soon after with a long statement.
Wellens apologises
Tottenham and Orient have had a close relationship in recent years with Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley on loan at the east London club from the Premier League giants this season and performing well.
Tottenham Women also regularly play their home games at the O's Brisbane Road, while the League One side borrowed a heated dome for their pitch from Spurs in 2022.
In an official statement on the club's website, Wellens said: “After today’s game, I was asked about the injuries within our squad and, without thinking, I made a stupid comment about Tottenham Hotspur.
“That comment was brought to my attention later in the evening and having watched my interview back I am deeply embarrassed and regret what I said.
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“At Leyton Orient, we have a strong relationship with Tottenham Hotspur and it was never my intention to say anything that would jeopardise that.
“Their manager, Ange Postecoglou, is a world-class coach and I want to apologise for my comments and wish Spurs all the very best for the second half of the season.”
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