Ange Postecoglou told to make Tottenham call as ‘perfect’ West Ham United verdict emerges
Troy Deeney has told Ange Postecoglou to change his system, admitting Tottenham’s style will be “perfect” West Ham United.
The Hammers face Spurs in North London on Saturday (19 October) as they look to build upon their first home win of the season against Ipswich Town last time out, before the international break.
Although talkSPORT pundit Deeney expects Tottenham to come away with all three points in East London, he does believe that Spurs’ high-pressing style could play right into Julen Lopetegui’s hands.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Friday (18 October, 11:23) he said: “I do think at times you can tweak depending on the opponent.
“I don’t think you have to be gung-ho all the time and this is the perfect game for West Ham. I do feel like Tottenham will win this game and they should win it, but if you’re West Ham this is perfect.
“They’re going to come at you, they like to sit in a low block anyway and counterattack. They’re built for that so it will be a really difficult game and one I’m looking forward to.
“I think especially when West Ham have got the ball, they should back off and allow them to try and break you down because without being disrespectful, I don’t think they’re very good at that.
“I think they’re better at counterattacking and getting Jarrod Bowen off and into the races, getting space for Lucas Paqueta to get in there and have runners in the box.
“I don’t think the way that Spurs are going to do that is by playing high-press, getting after it and leaving players one against one which plays into West Ham’s strengths.”
When do West Ham play Tottenham at the London Stadium?
As Deeney suggests, the Hammers do tend to look more comfortable when they can counterattack against a side, but they’ve shown they’re more than capable of winning when they dominate possession as well.
Against Ipswich last time out, the Irons had the majority of possession and put Kieran McKenna’s side to the sword. That will be harder to do against Spurs, but it certainly is not impossible.
Lopetegui and his team will not be too worried about what Postecoglou and Spurs plan to do.
Their focus will be on building on their display before the October international break so that they can hit the ground running with another three points.
Hopefully, Spurs do play into the Hammers’ strengths.
But if they don’t it is the end of the world. The likes of Paqueta, Bowen and Mohammed Kudus have more than enough quality to exploit the weakness in Postecoglou’s side.
In other West Ham news, Thomas Frank has been backed to exit Brentford to move to the London Stadium
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