Ange Postecoglou stated that "empathy" would "probably be a better word" to describe his outlook on rivals Arsenal's current injury issues.
Mikel Arteta saw Gabriel Jesus fall to an ACL injury during their defeat at home to Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup on the weekend, whilst he has also had to contend with injuries to Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori.
Spurs haven't had it easy themselves, with Postecoglou missing over ten senior players for most of the last two months. At the core of the team, Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven haven't seen the pitch as a trio since mid-November, whilst summer signing Wilson Odobert has played less than six minutes since The Lilywhites won 2-1 at Coventry City in September.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday lunchtime, Spurs' boss was unwilling to sympathise with his Spanish counterpart Arteta.
"I don’t know how much sympathy they’ve all had for me – I am not sure… Certainly, I have empathy which is probably a better word. I understand how challenging it is for any team, irrespective of the size or quality. With all these things, it is where the injuries hit, the areas they hit and the significance of the injuries all make it challenging but I am sure Mikel is not going to let that get in the way of him putting out a team tomorrow night that can beat us."
Despite Richarlison's return to the squad for Wednesday's North London Derby, the Australian head coach has now lost Timo Werner to a hamstring injury—the same issue that has been the story of their season.
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Derby day
Rewind to May. Tottenham were about to take on Manchester City in their penultimate game of the season. A win for Tottenham would bolster them towards a UEFA Champions League place, but it would also see Arsenal arrive into the final day of the season in pole position to win the Premier League.
There were many fans willing to see Spurs lose and drop down to Europe's second-tier competition, making a huge point of how big the rivalry is between the two North London sides.
When asked what he learned from that game under the warm spring evening in N17, Postecoglou provided a blunt response.
"Nothing I didn't already know. I said at the time, I totally understand it, I don't agree with it, I would never go into a game wanting to lose, that was the basic principle. It didn't mean I don't understand the rivalry between the teams.
"Trust me, when I was up at Celtic, there was only one other result they looked at, and if their weekend was going to be perfect, then it meant an 'L' for the other team and a 'W' for us. That was a perfect weekend, not just a 'W' for us, so I understand that, but it still doesn't mean I'll go in any game wanting to lose. I don't care what the fallout is from it."
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'Vile' Tamworth fans
Last Sunday's FA Cup tie was not entirely smooth sailing for Tottenham, needing extra time to see off non-league Tamworth. Speaking about his experience on the touchline, Postecoglou was frank in his assessment of the home crowd.
"As I said after the game, credit to Andy [Peaks] and his players and the people of Tamworth at the football club. I thought they did themselves proud on the day with the way they presented everything. 90 per cent of the crowd were very good and enjoyed the banter. There was 10 per cent who were pretty unacceptable.
"The stuff I heard was pretty vile and detestable, and getting things thrown at me, not a great experience, mate but we’re kind of expected to be the bigger person. I would have loved to have turned around and not be the bigger person in that moment, but you deal with it and go on."
It's not the first time the Spurs boss has been subject to abhorrent remarks and chants from the crowd. Most recently, aside from the flack he took during Sunday's 3-0 win at The Lamb Ground, the Australian was battered by abuse from Tottenham fans during a 1-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium in December.
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Transfer news
Ange Postecoglou confirmed that German winger Werner will not be leaving the capital before his loan deal expires, despite rumoured interest from Napoli in the last 24 hours.
Additionally, he has picked up a hamstring injury, however, the former Celtic man was adamant that no one can be allowed to leave this window.
"Yeah, we can’t afford to let anyone go at the moment. Some of the young players, Alfie Dorrington went out on loan and we will probably do similar for young Will [Lankshear] because he hasn’t really played a lot. Aside from that, we are looking at incomings if anything happens."
When asked about incomings, the Australian reiterated what he said in previous weeks.
"It’s hard to say. Like most other clubs, January is a difficult one to really have any certainty about anything. There are a lot of things which need to come together. I think I said last week the club is working really hard in that area and if there are any developments we will let everyone know."
Today, it emerged that Randal Kolo Muani has chosen Juventus over North London, with the French international set to make a switch to Italy on a straight loan despite being touted as a big target at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this month.
