Ange Postecoglou is not going to entertain speak of revenge when Tottenham go to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Spurs journey to Villa Park for what shall be an important match within the battle for Champions League qualification with the hosts presently occupying fourth spot within the Premier League.
Villa have additionally gained the final three conferences with Tottenham, however the narrative of revenge surrounds an incident from the earlier conflict on November 25.
A visit to Villa Park awaits pic.twitter.com/UmGm4wOPPI
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 7, 2024
The fixture marked Rodrigo Bentancur’s first begin in 9 months. Nonetheless, it was minimize brief by an ill-timed sort out from Villa full-back Matty Money that earned him a warning and compelled Bentancur off after 32 minutes with an ankle damage.
Money’s problem sparked a melee between each units of gamers and had unavailable Spurs personnel gunning for the defender, who was later given an escort by his team-mates to the away dressing room at half-time, however Postecoglou laughed off solutions payback may very well be on the playing cards.
He insisted: “No curiosity mate.
“For us, the problem is to face a extremely good crew, with actually sturdy house kind and past that you simply’d be shocked about how little that stuff infiltrates what we do and kind of our motivations for a sport of soccer.
“If something, they’re the kind of issues the place you hope that as you mature and develop as a crew grow to be much less and fewer vital or a spotlight.
“While you’re clutching at these sorts of issues, you’re dropping sense of what’s vital. What’s vital for us is to be at our greatest towards an excellent soccer crew and attempt to get a consequence.”
Cristian Romero was suspended for Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Villa in November however made clear his disapproval of Money’s sort out from his seat by the house dugout.
The Argentina defender is not any stranger to a poor problem after he was despatched off for catching Enzo Fernandes of Chelsea on the shin earlier this season, however that purple card is a uncommon blot on a largely clear copybook for Romero this time period.
Appointed vice-captain by Postecoglou final summer time, Romero has relished the additional accountability and been in a position to swap his earlier recklessness for a new-found stage of composure that has seen him but to be booked in 2024.
This time final yr Romero had acquired two purple playing cards and already been proven 9 cautions, however alongside one sending-off this season, he has additionally solely been given 4 yellows, whereas his common tackles per league sport has decreased from 2.5 to 2 and fouls per sport diminished from 1.6 to 0.7.
Postecoglou lavished reward on his centre-back, who has developed a brand new behavior for objectives after he headed in his fourth of the marketing campaign in final weekend’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
“He’s excellent however I assumed he was from day one,” Postecoglou stated.
“He’s a World Cup winner as a starter. Not simply a part of the squad or as a contributor.
“He’s acquired nice pedigree, he’s an ideal defender, nice man, very pushed, very motivated. Extremely, extremely aggressive in all the things he does and I really like that.
“There’s nothing extra you’d need in an athlete and he’s an ideal instance for the remainder of the fellows.”
Spurs can have Pedro Porro out there for the Villa Park conflict, however Richarlison is about to stay sidelined with a knee damage.