Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski has said his team-mates are ‘angry’ and are pledging to make amends after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester City. Nathan Ake’s 88th-minute goal settled a tense cup tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday.
Spurs were outclassed by City, whose goal was their first at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in six matches. Ange Postecoglou’s side managed just one shot on target.
The north Londoners are now out of both domestic cups and have only the Premier League to focus on. Kulusevski says Spurs are ‘angry’ over their cup exit.
He said: “One thing that this result gives us is the hunger – because nobody wants to lose. You’re very angry and ready to come back stronger.
“Now we have only the Premier League. We are doing good, we are still there, and have players coming back. We have two very important games coming next (Brentford and Everton) – and need to take six points.”
Despite all of Spurs’ attention being focused on the Premier League, Kulusevski insists his colleagues have not discussed finishing in the top four.
The Sweden international continued: “Honestly, we want to win every game. We don’t care about top four, top five. I want to be as good as possible and that’s what we’re trying to achieve. We never spoke about top four in the team.”
Spurs initially led the Premier League after a tremendous start under Postecoglou. However, a spate of injuries and suspensions saw their shock early title challenge derailed.
Postecoglou is now welcoming back key players from injuries. Micky van de Ven has returned from a serious hamstring injury, while James Maddison played his first minutes since November after coming off the bench against City.
Kulusevski points out that simply getting stars back on the pitch following injuries is not enough, though. He insists that patience must be given to players who need to get back up to speed with Premier League football.
“It gives us a lot but we need fitness. I was out for more than two weeks. You lose kilos, you lose your body, you lose your muscle,” the 23-year-old said.
“This is something every player has after a long time out. It affects you. It’s good that players are coming back but we have to give everybody time.”
Spurs are fifth in the Premier League, three points off fourth-placed Aston Villa.
