Ange Postecoglou explains how Tottenham can still convince players to join after Mathys Tel snub

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Ange Postecoglou believes there is plenty to convince other new signings to join Tottenham in the final days of the January transfer window after Mathys Tel turned down the club.

Spurs have failed so far this month to sign any outfield players despite the desperate need for weeks for extra numbers during the injury crisis that has left the squad with double figures in missing players most matches. In recent days Tottenham held talks with Bayern Munich over the potential signing of 19-year-old winger Mathys Tel only for the teenager to turn down a move, despite chairman Daniel Levy reportedly flying to Germany to help with talks.

Postecoglou also told football.london that Spurs will look to sign a centre-back if Radu Dragusin's knee injury looks to be a bad one. AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori is one defender the north London side have explored as a potential new arrival.

With Spurs in 15th place in the Premier League and speaking before the news that Tel had rejected the north London club, Postecoglou was asked whether it was tough to persuade players to join the club at this point.

"It depends what the players are looking for," said the Australian. "You can look at it two ways, ok the league form is not great but there’s some pretty big possibilities to have success here in the last three or four months.

"It’s still a big club, it’s still a club that can challenge for honours and it’s whether the player sees the potential that we see right now, or certainly that I see. If it’s too much of a hard sell it’s probably not the right one for us."

He added: "You need a bit of discipline. The one thing I don’t want to do is bring somebody in who is just going to be another body. I don’t think that serves any purpose knowing what we’ve got coming in [back].

"That aside, there is definitely a need for us and has been a need, that’s why we’ve been looking for a player or two to help us with what’s ahead. But they have to be the right types and fit in with what we’re doing. I guess that’s the tricky bit. There are plenty of players available but are they going to be the right ones, that’s the question for us."

Other than Dominic Solanke, Tottenham have signed a string of teenagers this season and Postecoglou has had to rely on youngsters like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall to play far more minutes and matches that he would have liked to in their first season at the club.

"It’s a balancing act of where we’re at and what we need right now but we’re still in the building process," said the 59-year-old. "It’s the reason we signed Dom at the start of the year. We felt we needed some experience. Look at the guys who are out, certainly getting Madders, Vicario and Romero back will help in that seniority.

"It’s always a balancing act of what we need right now but never losing sight of what we’re trying to build. A lot of that depends on the development of the young players too. If they develop really quickly you don’t want to close that door for them too. If Archie or Lucas are becoming top players I wouldn’t want to block their pathway to becoming real important players for us. You have to judge it as you go along."

Postecoglou told football.london earlier on Friday that all of his previously injured players are expected back in the next seven to 10 days, with Solanke a week behind them, and he sees that period next month as being a bit of a reset for their season.

"If you look at our schedule, which is why it was important last night [to beat Elfsborg], we’ve obviously got a big week but we play Villa in the cup and then we’ve got a clean week to Man United and that’s the week all of them are sort of scheduled to start training," he said.

"So if we get a full week of training, because at the moment we’re hardly training, seriously me or you could join in with the training we’re doing. To have a full week of training with those guys available leading into the Man United game, I think it is a little bit of a point for us to relaunch our campaign, particularly in the league, but then we have real big games of consequence in the cups coming around as well."

When it comes to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, the Italy international is almost available for selection and ahead of schedule after recovering from his fractured ankle.

"He’s training now with [Rob] Burchy and the keepers, that’s the first good sign. It will come down to when he feels comfortable," said the Spurs head coach. "The type of injury he had was not a muscle injury so it’s just a matter of if he can do all the actions he needs to do, goalkeepers are obviously a different position to other players. With him, over the next week or 10 days I’d expect him to be available."

The Tottenham fans have been calling for chairman Daniel Levy's exit in recent matches more vociferously than ever and Postecoglou was asked about that and whether he feels any responsibility with Spurs' poor form.

"It’s a bit harsh to say I’m responsible. It’s not like I’m in the middle of it sort of starting the chant!" he said. "Look, I said last week I’ve always felt when you are trying to build something successful, you need to be united in that.

"I think I said last week I have probably failed in trying to unify the club in that way and part of that is just because of the form we are in in the league, which allows peoples’ minds to go away from the here and now.

"I thought the crowd were good last night. They understood we had a young squad out there and they got genuinely excited towards the end of the game seeing the young boys. That’s what we’re trying to tap into because we’re going to need the support in this last phase of the season to hopefully create something special.

"But I have often said I can’t sit here and dictate to people what they should or shouldn’t do. My role is to try to create an environment where we are unified and we have to be unified – particularly when you go through tough times, the last thing you want is splintering in our mindset and focus."

The perception among sections of the Tottenham fanbase is that Levy does not back his managers to the hilt or in key moments in the transfer market.

"Perceptions... What I deal with is reality. I've said from the start of the window, we're obviously really short. We're looking to try to help this group of players and the club is doing all it can to try to rectify that," said Postecoglou.

"I can't delve too deeply into that because I'd be sort of going into that world of looking for blame or looking to apportion responsibility to other people when I keep saying that we have to be unified through this. We have to be, otherwise when you're going through a tough period, as we are at the moment, you'll never get out of it.

"So I always take things at face value. You have trust within the group that everyone is doing what they can to try to help, because they're not helping me, they're helping the club. I know you say support the manager but ultimately it's the club. As we know, managers come and go. It's about what's best for the football club, that's always got to be the primary motivation for everyone involved."

Postecoglou was asked whether he's frustrated to not be more involved in the transfer process this time around. In his first summer at Spurs, he was heavily involved in the recruitment when there was no sporting director in place.

"It just depends. At different clubs, it's been different. At other clubs I've been more involved in that side of it," he said. "I've always tried to stay disciplined by not getting frustrated by things that are out of my control.

"All I can do is have faith and trust in the people who are in charge of those areas. My responsibility lies in the things I can control. Right now, there are obviously three days left of the window, and I've got to make sure all my energies are on the players who are going to play against Brentford."

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