Ange Postecoglou reveals why Mikey Moore is not playing for Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou has shed light on why he has decided against using Mikey Moore over the last few months and has revealed if we will see the winger play again for Tottenham this season.
Moore is seen by many at Hotspur Way as a potential generational talent and the teenager showed exactly why there is so much hype around him when he got first-team opportunities earlier this season during Tottenham’s injury crisis.
However, following the return of some injured players and the arrival of reinforcements in January, the winger has struggled to get a look-in in the club’s matchday squad.
Some pundits have implored Postecoglou to hand more minutes to Moore, and the Tottenham boss has now explained why the 17-year-old has not been playing of late.
Ange Postecoglou reveals he is protecting Mikey Moore
The Australian admitted that while he was keen for Moore to stay and train with the first team this season, the youngster has ended up getting a lot more minutes than he foresaw.
Postecoglou suggested that the Tottenham academy graduate’s body is still getting used to the demands of playing at the highest level, thus essentially confirming that we will not see much of Moore until next season.
The 59-year-old told Football.London: “We’ve exposed Mikey a hell of a lot more than I thought we would at the start of the year.
“He only just started playing Under-21 football last year and he had some injuries, didn’t play a lot. It was kind of touch-and-go at the start of the year, do we let him bed in with the 21s or give him a loan or keep him with us?
“But my thing was to let him train for a year, train with men, train in the first team environment and see how he adapts.
“At the end of that, he’ll still be 17 or 18 and we can make decisions, but he’s played a lot more than we thought. But he’s very much a part of our set-up in the first-team and he’s training every day.”
Postecoglou backs Moore to follow in the footsteps of Bergvall
Postecoglou drew parallels between Moore’s growth and the development of Lucas Bergvall since he arrived at the club last summer. He suggested that just like the Swede, the young Englishman will get a lot stronger over the next year or two.
Postecoglou added: “We’ll see the benefits of that (Moore’s game time) in years to come, we don’t need to be in a rush with Mikey. He’s a very talented player and he’s working hard.
“Physically I still sense he’s growing into his body. We’ve seen with Lucas [Bergvall] this year, the difference in 12 months in young players is quite transforming. I think Mikey will be in a similar boat. We’re still very happy with him and we’re sure he’ll keep developing.”
The post Ange Postecoglou reveals why Mikey Moore is not playing for Tottenham appeared first on Spurs Web.