Ange Postecoglou told Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero on Thursday that his tackling style will be scrutinized for the remainder of the season.
Romero, who had only recently returned from a three-game suspension following a red card against Chelsea earlier this month, was chastised again on Sunday for a bad challenge on Callum Wilson near the end of Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Newcastle.
A VAR review determined that an on-field punishment of a caution was appropriate, but had Romero received a red card, he would have faced a four-match suspension, adding to the challenges facing a Tottenham club that is already missing eight first-team players for Friday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.
“It’s fair to say that the spotlight will be on him for the rest of the year,” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said to reporters.
“Any challenge he does, whether it’s something obvious like the Chelsea game or last week, which I thought was just as clumsy.”
“He understands it, he knows it.” He merely needs to make the necessary modifications throughout the game, but I don’t think it’s a topic for lengthy discussions.
“It’s pretty evident the impact he has on us when he’s playing and when he’s not and we much prefer to have him out there.”
Tottenham failed to win any of the games Romero missed due to suspension, and his suspension coincided with the absence of teammate defender Micky van de Ven due to a hamstring injury.
Van de Ven will not return until January, and while Postecoglou is delighted by Romero’s relationship with full-back Ben Davies, he is hoping to bring in another central defender during the transfer season.
“As a team I thought we were a lot more organised with our press (against Newcastle),” Postecoglou was quoted as saying.
“Romero makes a big difference, but Ben Davies was outstanding last week as well.” He’s receiving some playing time lately, but keep in mind that he’s not a center-back.
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate in having Ben step in for us there. He’s really good at absorbing knowledge, and he knows the game, not only his own role, but also how we want to play, which has aided him.
“Having Romeo next to him helps in that regard, as does Vic (Guglielmo Vicario), who has taken on a leadership role back there as well.”
“Ultimately, we still need to sign another centre-back because at the moment we are a little bit on tenterhooks because if something happens again we are short and we are already short.”
Giovani Lo Celso, who had a minor injury in training this week, will miss the Forest game, according to Postecoglou.
Tottenham’s victory over Newcastle was their first in six games. Spurs have lost four of their next five games since topping the Premier League with a win against Crystal Palace on October 27.