Ange Postecoglou faces a new challenge at Tottenham Hotspur this season. By leading them to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in his first year as manager, they secured a place in the expanded version of the Europa League.

In the league phase they will face eight different teams until the end of January, with games split equally between home and away. The opening game takes place on Thursday at home against Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.

Tottenham have only made it to the quarter-finals once in their last seven appearances in the competition, which they won in its previous form as the UEFA Cup in 1972 and 1984, and were also finalists in 1974 under Andre Villas-Boas in 2012-13. They should have a real chance of winning the title again and fulfilling Postecoglou’s statement that he “always wins trophies” in his second year. They are among the best-placed teams alongside Roma, Porto, Ajax and Manchester United.

Another change to the new format is that third-placed teams in the Champions League will no longer be relegated to the knockout phase of that competition. So if Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund drop out of the Champions League after the league phase, they won’t suddenly appear like an all-powerful boss in a video game and block Tottenham’s path to the trophy. In four of the last five seasons, a club that started in the Champions League group stage has reached the Europa League final.

Spurs boss Postecoglou speaks to the media before the Qarabag game (Zac Goodwin/Getty Images)

Postecoglou must find the right balance between giving minutes to players who will not feature regularly for him in the Premier League and fielding teams capable of winning enough games to compete in the new-look opening phase of the Europa League to get into the top eight. Should Spurs finish between ninth and 24th, they will have to play a return leg in February in an attempt to qualify for the round of 16. If the value is lower, they will be eliminated from Europe for this season.

Tottenham were only able to put together a 23-man squad for the league stage (academy youngsters such as Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore are not included in this number, but can still take part in the games), while other clubs were allowed to have up to 25 players. That’s because UEFA rules require each team to have eight locally trained senior players, and Spurs haven’t reached that number in their current squad. As a result, they have named four goalkeepers, including academy graduates Alfie Whiteman and Brandon Austin.

The lack of homegrown players since the likes of Harry Kane, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp left the club last year meant Spurs had to name this reduced squad, resulting in Postecoglou omitting Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon. This is a particularly worrying scenario for Spence as he has already played for them twice in the Premier League this season and was instrumental in their comeback against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup last week.

“It was always a difficult decision. Due to the current composition of our squad and the lack of club-trained players, we always had to leave someone out,” Postecoglou said after the squad was confirmed. “Djed was unlucky but at the same time Djed has already played in the Premier League. If you were to ask him at the start of the season where he sees himself, the fact that he’s part of our squad and obviously he’s going to be playing a big part of the year like he already has, I don’t think he’s overly concerned should put up with a lot of disappointment.

“Of course he wants to play, but in the end it was about team balance for us. We just feel like with the squad we have we have some cover on the right side, players who can cover on the left side and in those situations I always tend to go for more attacking players.”

Fraser Forster is the second choice goalkeeper behind Guglielmo Vicario. The fact that the 36-year-old was uncomfortable playing from the back was evident in the duel against champion club Coventry. In the first minute of the game, he missed a pass to Lucas Bergvall on the edge of the penalty area, which almost led to Jack Rudoni’s goal. Vicario will certainly be needed against stronger opponents, but he is not expected to play twice a week until February.

There are only seven defenders in the Europa League squad and they need to be managed carefully to ensure no one is put under too much strain. Archie Gray will deputize for Pedro Porro at right-back, while Radu Dragusin can rotate with Cristian Romero. Ben Davies could step in for Destiny Udogie or Micky van de Ven.

Postecoglou has a dilemma in attack with Wilson Odobert and Richarlison currently recovering from injuries. They worked in the gym on Wednesday while the rest of the team trained outside. Richarlison’s absence will place greater strain on club-record £65 million ($86.6 million) signing Dominic Solanke, but could also provide an opportunity for fellow 19-year-old striker Lankshear.

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Lankshear impressed during the pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea this summer and is back in first-team training following a hamstring injury. Playing competitive football in the Europa League would be the perfect opportunity for him and 17-year-old winger Moore to develop. Remember, Kane scored his first goal for the club when he scored in a 4-0 win over Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League as an 18-year-old in December 2011.

The alternative option is to play Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski up front, but they need just as much rest as Solanke. Kulusevski was Tottenham’s brightest player playing in central attacking midfield in the first month of the season and it would be a shame to move him just when he is gaining momentum. And Son could be too busy playing on the wing alongside Brennan Johnson twice a week due to Odobert’s hamstring injury and Timo Werner’s lack of form.

Odobert’s hamstring injury limits Spurs’ options (Mike Egerton/Getty Images)

The only area of ​​the pitch that is not a cause for concern is central midfield.

Even though Rodrigo Bentancur receives a lengthy national ban for his comments about Son, he is still allowed to take part in European games. Postecoglou could select the Uruguayan international in all Europa League games, keeping Yves Bissouma fresh for the Premier League. Bergvall has shown flashes of creativity and brilliance in his cameo appearances in his debut season so far and it will be exciting to see what he can offer from the start, while Pape Sarr completes a talented midfield.

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Postecoglou pointed out ahead of his game against Qarabag that the squad had been developed in the first 12 months of his tenure to include more players who are “robust enough to play our style of football”. That will be put to the test over the next four months, when many of them will play twice a week.

The other factor to consider is that this is a young squad with limited experience playing in European competitions. Udogie, Van de Ven and Johnson lead a group of players who have never performed at this level before. Postecoglou, who managed his former club Celtic in all three UEFA competitions, believes it will be an “interesting challenge” to face teams with “eight different styles”.

The overall message was that this tournament should be embraced, despite the grueling schedule and travel involved in a schedule that includes games in Hungary (Ferencvaros), Turkey (Galatasaray), Scotland (Rangers) and Germany (Hoffenheim). .

“Anytime you can expose individuals or the group to different environments, there is greater opportunity for growth,” Postecoglou said in his press conference on Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing against an opponent you’ve never played against before or in a country or stadium with a different atmosphere. All of this offers opportunities for growth, and that is exactly what European competition allows you to do.

“I kept saying last year that if we had been in Europe we could have developed a little quicker in terms of what we offer our players, especially with a young group.” For many of them it is the first time that they take part in a European competition. It will be the first time for us as a group. The squad has changed a lot in the last 12 months. For all these reasons, I see it as a fantastic opportunity to continue to develop as a team in terms of football and hopefully bring us closer to our goal.”

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(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)