Postecoglou laments Tottenham ‘running out of steam’ in Wolves loss

In other words: Ange Postecoglou, the coach of Tottenham, expressed that some of his players became more focused on protecting themselves instead of trying to win the match. This occurred after they lost another game in less than a week, which deprived them of the opportunity of being the leaders of the Premier League. The coach also recognized that his team lost energy during the match, and they weren't able to take advantage of Brennan Johnson's initial goal.

The Wolves team managed to perform an amazing comeback during the game by scoring two goals in the stoppage time of the second half. This victory was greatly influenced by the contributions of Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina, who were substitutes in the second half. They managed to score, which overshadowed Johnson's first goal for Tottenham, making it almost insignificant.

Postecoglou mentioned that the team was ahead in the game and some of the players who had not played in a while were trying to protect themselves until the end of the match. He added that it was reasonable considering the players chosen for the lineup.

Despite scoring in the third minute, he noticed that his team became less active during the game. He admitted that they could have been more confident and assertive, especially when in possession of the ball. However, he also acknowledged that there were a lot of changes made to the team, with three of the defense being new starters for the season, which affected their rhythm and flow on the field.

"We've implemented a few alterations in earlier stages that may impede smoothness, but we could have adopted a more affirmative approach."

This is the first time that Postecoglou, who manages Celtic, has experienced back-to-back losses since September 2021. Despite his team's second defeat of the week, the Australian coach responded diplomatically. Their unbeaten run came to an unexpected conclusion when they faced Chelsea on Monday, which resulted in the dismissals of Udogie and Romero.

Postecoglou was put in a tough spot as he had to make four changes to his team lineup. James Maddison and Micky van de Ven were both out due to ankle and hamstring injuries, which won't heal until next year. In addition to these absences, Romero and Udogie were also suspended. As a result, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg had their first league starts of the season while Ben Davies and Emerson Royal received their second.

According to Postecoglou, a few of the team members have participated in their initial matches of the year. Changing three out of the four defenders can be a bit of a disruption, especially when they haven't had any gameplay experience. However, this ordeal will benefit them in the long run. They will become more robust after putting in efforts during the game. So, there are several encouraging aspects to take away from this situation.