'It's unacceptable!' - Timo Werner torn to shreds by Ange Postecoglou as Spurs boss brutally says it's of 'no concern' how forward took dressing down

Werner’s struggles on the pitch were evident, as he lost possession 16 times, failed to win any of his five duels, and completed just 69% of his passes. Postecoglou was vexed with his performance and substituted him at half-time in favour of Dejan Kulusevski, who later scored the equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw for Spurs.

“He wasn’t playing anywhere near the level he should,” said Postecoglou to reporters.

“When you’ve got 18-year-olds [playing], it’s not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo. He’s a senior international, he’s a German international. In the moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options. I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable.”

Postecoglou confirmed that he had spoken candidly with Werner during half-time about his performance and emphasised that the forward’s reaction to the criticism was not his primary concern.

When asked how Werner took the dressing down, Postecoglou said: "Don’t really know. It’s not really of great concern. We need everybody including him to be contributing. Because we don’t have the depth to leave people out if they’re performing poorly. We need them to play their part. Especially the senior guys. When I’m asking younger guys to do massive jobs, I expect a level of performance from some of the senior guys. And today wasn’t that.”

Currently sitting ninth in the Europa League standings, Spurs have work to do to secure automatic qualification for the knockout stages. Two crucial matches next month, against Hoffenheim and IF Elfsborg, will determine whether they can avoid the February play-offs by finishing in the top eight.

Spurs will look to bounce back in the Premier League when they face Southampton away on Sunday. The match presents an opportunity for the team to break their five-match winless streak and regain momentum as they juggle between domestic and European commitments.