Jurgen Klinsmann fires warning to Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou to fix glaring set-piece issue
Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by scraping past Championship side Coventry City 2-1 on Wednesday night.
It was an extremely vital game for the Lilywhites after the North London derby defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend. While the Spurs players did not pull up trees, it was a job done in the end as late goals from substitutes Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson swung the tie in our favour.
Ange Postecoglou would have been a relieved man to see his side edge past Coventry and punch their tickets for the Carabao Cup next round. However, it wasn’t all positives for the 59-year-old as his team were caught on the break several times and looked fragile when defending set-pieces.
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Former Tottenham forward Jurgen Klinsmann certainly wasn’t convinced with one particular aspect in the game against Coventry, leading him to voice his concerns. In a panel discussion with ESPN FC involving Dan Thomas, Alejandro Moreno, Craig Burley and Frank Leboeuf, the German advised Ange Postecoglou to fix the “little problem” at Spurs if they are to progress as a club.
“There’s obviously things you’ve got to fix. And the set pieces, especially corner kicks have been a problem for them last season,” Klinsmann said.
“It’s now been a little problem and got to work on them. It’s an attitude issue, I don’t think it’s now necessarily a discussion of zonal or man-to-man marking or whatever or the goalkeeper should come out early.
“It needs to get fixed by the players; they need to make sure they’re spot on when the ball flies in the box.”
Spurs struggling to defend set pieces under Big Ange has been a theme since last season. The cup tie against Coventry wasn’t the only time the Lilywhites had issues when defending corners and free-kicks.
Arsenal’s only goal in the North London derby win came through a corner kick, with Gabriel Magalhaes rising the highest to bullet home a header past the hapless Guglielmo Vicario. The lack of communication between the players and poor zonal marking led to Gabriel’s goal.
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The North Londoners are among the minority to not have a set-piece coach in place. Big Ange was bullish in his decision last week to not appoint a specialist on attacking and defending set-pieces, so the onus is on him and his current coaching staff to address the glaring issue as quickly as possible and stop Spurs from dropping costly points.
