Ange Postecoglou has expressed his disappointment at Destiny Udogie’s role in West Ham’s goal against Spurs on Saturday, but believes the full-back has improved his performance overall.
The Lilywhites won comfortably 4-1 against their London rivals, recovering from their shocking 3-2 collapse against Brighton before the international parenthesis.
Goals by Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma and Heung-min Son, plus an own goal from Alphonse Areola, did the job for Tottenham.
However, the strike only came after Mohammed Kudus had put West Ham ahead in the 18th minute, firing home after great work from Jarrod Bowen.
The England international stepped up to beat Udogie down Spurs’ left, slotting the ball into the area where Kudus was on hand to find the back of the net.
Udogie improved quickly after coming second best against Bowen.
The Italy international – still just 21 – made three tackles, four recoveries, an interception and a goal-line clearance in his 88 minutes on the pitch, while contributing at the other end with three chances created, including the assist on Bissouma’s goal.
Ange assesses Destiny Udogie’s performance against West Ham
Overall, Postecoglou was pleased with Udogie’s performance against a talent like Bowen.
That said, he still called out the defender for his role in the first goal; a sign of how much work still needs to be done to make him a consistent player.
“It was better. I still think for his goal he could have done better,” Postecoglou told reporters (via Official Tottenham website).
“We have to continuously work with Destiny as he is still a young player, it is his second year in the Premier League, but I have no doubt that he will become an outstanding player for us.
“The only way he’s going to become a top player for us is if we keep exposing him, playing him and letting him learn from his mistakes. For young players, it’s part of the process that you have to expect that it’s not going to be easy, but you know that you’re going to have a great footballer in the end. I have no doubt about it with Destiny. I have no doubt about it.
“We are constantly working on his game, constantly working on areas for him to improve and the beauty is that he wants it and he accepts it.”
Perhaps Udogie’s best sign was his ability to quickly put the West Ham goal behind him, facing one of the most dangerous wingers in the Premier League.
“I thought after the goal he recovered very well,” continued Postecoglou. “He’s not an easy player to play against Bowen and his front three are tough for anyone because they have the quality to beat you on the dribble, they’re quick and they’re all very strong.
“It was a big challenge for our full-backs today and I thought, as I said, I was disappointed with the goal. but they handled it very well.”
