Ange Postecoglou senses opportunity for Tottenham despite star man's injury blow - The Mirror

Spurs are favourites to win the Europa League, a competition they have struggled to make an impression in for years, despite Dejan Kulusevski being ruled out of AZ Alkmaar tie with foot injury

Ange Postecoglou is urging his Tottenham stars to seize their opportunity in Alkmaar on Thursday night and ensure a troubled season could still have the sweetest ending.

With their domestic campaign petering out in lower mid-table, Spurs face AZ in the first leg of their round of 16 tie as the bookmakers’ favourites to go all the way in Bilbao come May.

And as Postecoglou welcomes back three more members of his strongest XI from injury, he is confident they have enough character to prosper in a competition the club has historically struggled to progress in.

While Spurs reached the Champions League final in 2019, their record on Thursday nights is poor with only two quarter-final defeats in 11 appearances this millennium to show.

“It is fair to say the boys really understand there is a great opportunity for us,” Postecoglou said after confirming that Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke are all available.

“The guys who have been playing through are now able to recover and train and prepare themselves better for games.

“That’s coincided with seeing their team-mates come back and certainly the guys that have been out injured, they’ve come back with a real hunger and desire to help the team.

“They’ve all been frustrated to sit on the sidelines and see how difficult it has been for the group of players who have been playing. They’ve just wanted to help and now they get that opportunity.

“Again, I think you sense that in the group that they appreciate they have some support and some help. There is a platform there for us to hopefully get back to playing our football and seeing how far we can progress.”

It is not all positive on the fitness front, however. Having featured in all of their previous 42 fixtures this season, star man Dejan Kulusevski has not travelled because of a foot injury and Postecoglou does not think he will be available again before the international break.

Romero, Van de Ven and Solanke are also more likely to start from the bench. “They’ve all been out for a significant amount of time so we’ll see when we introduce them," he added.

Spurs face a reunion with former striker Troy Parrott, who has racked up 16 goals for the Dutch side so far this season.

And asked for his thoughts on his old side being 13th in the Premier League table, the Dubliner said: “When I was there, the focus was always the top four and being at the top of the table. I think looking from the outside it looks like there's a disappointment there.”

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