Ange Postecoglou has expressed his disappointment in Destiny Udogie’s role in West Ham’s goal against Spurs on Saturday, but believes the full-back put in an overall improved performance.
The Lilywhites ran out comfortable 4-1 winners against their London rivals, bouncing back from their shocking 3-2 collapse against Brighton prior to the international break.
Goals from Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma and Heung-min Son — as well as an Alphonse Areola own goal — did the job for Tottenham.
However, that onslaught only came after Mohammed Kudus had put West Ham in front on 18 minutes, firing home after great work from Jarrod Bowen.
The England international turned on the acceleration to beat Udogie down Spurs’ left, putting the ball across the box where Kudus was on hand to find the back of the net.
Udogie improved rapidly after coming out second best against Bowen.
The Italy international — still only 21 years old — made three tackles, four recoveries, an interception and a goalline clearance during his 88 minutes on the pitch, while contributing at the other end with three chances created, including the assist for Bissouma’s goal.
Ange assesses Destiny Udogie performance vs West Ham
Overall, Postecoglou was pleased with Udogie’s performance against a talent such as Bowen.
That said, he still called the defender out for his role in the opening goal; a sign of how much work still needs to be done to turn him into a consistent player.
“He was better. I still think for their goal he could’ve done better,” Postecoglou told reporters (via Tottenham’s official website).
“We’ve got to continually work with Destiny as he’s still a young player, it’s his second year in the Premier League but I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to become an outstanding player for us.
“The only way he’s going to become an outstanding player for us is if we keep exposing him, playing him and letting him learn from his mistakes. It’s part of the process for young players that you have to expect that it’s not going to be smooth but you know eventually you’re going to have a fantastic footballer. I’ve no doubt about that with Destiny. I’ve absolutely no doubt.
“We’re constantly working at his game, constantly working at areas for him to improve and the beauty of it is that he wants to and he embraces it.”
Perhaps the best sign from Udogie was his ability to quickly put the West Ham goal behind him, getting to grips with one of the Premier League’s most dangerous wingers.
“I thought after the goal he bounced back really well,” Postecoglou continued. “Bowen is not an easy player at all to play against and their front three are tough for anybody 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, like I said, I was disappointed with the goal. but they handled it really well.”