Ange Postecoglou’s Intentions Are Clear – Richard Keys Sees Clue | OneFootball

Richard Keys believes that Ange Postecoglou’s team selection for Tottenham Hotspur’s weekend Premier League meeting with Bournemouth shows that the Australian boss is putting all his eggs in the Europa League basket.

Tottenham started the Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday without key players such Heung-min Son and James Maddison, with young winger Wilson Odobert given an opportunity.

It was only in the second half, with Spurs being 1-0 down against the Cherries, that both Son and Maddison were introduced.

It was Son’s spot kick in the 84th minute that helped Spurs to avoid a damaging defeat on home turf at the hands of Bournemouth, who have European qualification ambitions.

Keys was critical of Postecoglou’s team selection for the Premier League match and insisted that it proved that Tottenham are now playing only for Europa League glory.

“Tottenham’s team versus Bournemouth made clear Postecoglou’s intentions. It’s Europe or bust for him”, Keys wrote on his blog.

In Tottenham’s tactics, Keys found similarities with Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, while posing the question of whether success in Europe is considered to be more important than winning at home, in English football.

“And Amorim. And Arteta now. And Maresca, a wait a minute.

“Are we seeing the seeds of a Super League being sown?

“An era where success in Europe is considered more important than domestic success?

“It’s a subject for another time – but mark my words, it will happen.

“Maybe not in my time doing this job – but it will happen.”

Tottenham lost the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie 1-0 against AZ Alkmaar and are hoping to turn the tables on the Dutch side on Thursday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AZ did visit Tottenham in the league phase of the Europa League, but went down to a 1-0 defeat; a repeat of that result would see the tie head into extra time on Thursday.