Tottenham have found for themselves a surprising new lease of life with back-to-back wins as they return to Premier League action this midweek.
A lot of credit for that goes to their recent January signing, whom Ange Postecoglou spoke about ahead of the game.
Ange Postecoglou talks about start to life in North London for Antonín Kinský ahead of Premier League debut
Speaking ahead of the next edition of the North London Derby in the Premier League on Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou addressed, among other things, his new goalkeeper, Antonín Kinský, talking about his time at Hotspur Way thus far and what’s in store for him as he makes his English top-flight debut.
“It’s a different challenge but it’s more to do with mindset in that he’s prepared to embrace that challenge, and the challenge we found in the last game when we found out just how strong they are on offensive set pieces and the players they’ve got in terms of both delivery and execution.
“You need to be well organised, but you also need your goalkeeper to play a pivotal role. So far what I’ve seen of him he’s embraced those challenges.
“It’s not easy going to a place like Tamworth and they’re throwing balls literally under the crossbar and you’ve got about 20 bodies around you, and as much as it’s about technical ability it’s more about mindset and tackling that and he didn’t shy away from it.
“That really helped us because it gives confidence to the players around him because they know if it’s in his area, he’s going to come for it and they can focus on their job.”
Postecoglou on the Czechia U21 international, as quoted by Football London.
Indeed, things could not have turned out any better for the 21-year-old, who arrived in North London at the stroke of New Year from Slavia Prague on the back of a £12.5m move. After keeping a clean sheet in his first game—a rarity in itself at Spurs—as Spurs beat Liverpool 1-0 at home in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie, he kept another clean sheet on the weekend in the third round of the FA Cup as Spurs toiled their way into the fourth round with an after-extra-time victory over National League side Tamworth, making it back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since September.
Spurs have not beaten Arsenal in the North London Derby since May 2022.
TTLB Opinion
Kinský rightly deserves all the praise he is getting as he has breathed life into a Tottenham defence that had for the most part looked dead and buried. One can only assume things would be easier for the Lilywhites once their first-choice centre-backs return to the pitch.
With his Premier League debut coinciding with the North London Derby, one could hardly have asked for a tougher baptism of fire in the English topflight. But if his first two performances are anything to go by Kinský will back himself to do well not just in the upcoming game but all the games he can get before Guglielmo Vicario returns to training, leaving for the Italian a flurry of question marks.
