The Brazilian striker has to fill the void left by Harry Kane (Pictures: AFP / Shutterstock)
Ange Postecoglou has defended Richarlison’s performance in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Brentford on Sunday while he insists Eric Dier does have a role to play despite being left out of the squad.
The north Londoners began the post-Harry Kane era with a promising display at the Community Stadium and took an early lead when Cristian Romero converted James Maddison’s free-kick – though the centre-back had to be taken off moments later due to a head injury.
Brentford hit back quickly from the penalty spot, with Bryan Mbuemo converting after a soft foul from new Spurs skipper Son Heung-min, and Yoane Wissa put the hosts ahead soon after with an effort that cruelly deflected off debutant Micky van de Ven.
Tottenham levelled just before the break through Emerson Royal and dominated possession in the second half without carving out many clear-cut chances, while Brentford had several opportunities on the break.
It ended all square with Richarlison having struggled to make an impact up top, but Postecoglou was happy with the Brazilian’s overall display and work rate and feels the side need to work harder to create chances for him.
Asked what he made of Richarlison in his post-match press conference, Postecoglou said: ‘I thought he worked hard today but I felt we didn’t use him enough.
‘I thought we could have been a little bit more direct to him and look for him a little bit more. He was making some good runs and he was working hard. He had a couple of half opportunities but I thought we could have created more for him.
Richarlison was frustrated by Brentford’s deep and organised back-line (Getty)
‘The key for us with Richy is to keep supporting him because he’s working awfully hard for the team in a defensive sense and when we get in that front third I thought we didn’t look enough for him today.
‘I have got a lot of time for him. He’s a striker and he’s got a lot of great attributes and he will always work hard for the team and that’s a good starting point for me.’
Dier, meanwhile, was not part of the matchday squad – with Davinson Sanchez preferred on the bench – while he was also overlooked as part of the club’s new-look leadership group.
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The 29-year-old, who has been at Spurs for nine years, also raised eyebrows by removing references to the club on his social media profiles, but Postecoglou insists he is part of the squad going forward despite not being involved against Brentford.
He explained: ‘Eric is part of this team. We left a few out today. We left some players on the bench today that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players.
‘Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection. My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.’
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The Brazilian striker has to fill the void left by Harry Kane.