Postecoglou hails Son Heung-min for putting team first despite lack of goals | OneFootball

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Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou can sense Son Heung-min’s frustration at his poor form in front of goal, but has praised his continued team-first mentality.

Son has 12 goals in all competitions for Spurs this season, but has failed to score from open play in his last 15 club appearances ahead of Sunday’s trip to Wolves.

Fixtures between Tottenham and Wolves always carry extra significance in South Korea as compatriots Son and Hwang Hee-chan go head-to-head.

And even though there is no guarantee either will start at Molineux, Postecoglou believes his captain will be back in the goals soon.

Asked how Son is dealing with personal frustration whilst still being a leader for an under-fire group, Postecoglou said: “I think he has been able to separate both, but he is frustrated.

“Like all attacking players, scoring goals is a big part of their game and a big part of Sonny’s game. His return over the last 10 years has been remarkable for a player in his position, but I think he’s been pretty good at separating both.

“In the last two games in particular, he’s really trying to do the team things first. He’s been an instigator in terms of all our goals. If he was desperate for goals, I think he would have taken other options.

“I think as long as he does that, it will get him into a position where – and he was a bit unlucky with the strike (against Eintracht Frankfurt) – he will get the goals, but more important for me is he continues to do those team things.

“With a lot of our football, the goals will come to the attacking players if they do the right things over and over again rather than them having to go out there individually and find them.”

Son could be on the bench on Sunday, with Postecoglou set to shuffle his pack ahead of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final second leg at Frankfurt.

Destiny Udogie and Micky van de Ven, who both struggled with cramp late on in the 1-1 draw with Frankfurt on Thursday, are expected to drop out of the XI, while Pape Sarr and Mathys Tel are set to earn an opportunity to impress.

Postecoglou used Brennan Johnson as a reference for his squad in Friday’s team meeting about the importance of Sunday, with two goals for the Wales winger in what was largely a dead-rubber versus Southampton last weekend enough to earn him a start on Thursday.

“What ideally we want is people to play Sunday, play really well and be ready for selection and pushing the guys who are there. That is the beauty of having a strong squad and I always feel competition is the healthiest way to get the best out of people,” Postecoglou said.

“I think with the ways the guys are training, that is how the guys who play will see it. They won’t see it as a token game. They will see it as an opportunity to push their case forward.”