Ange Postecoglou has asked for patience from anyone who is quick to judge Dominic Solanke following his £65 million ($86 million) move from Bournemouth.
The 27-year-old became Spurs’ record signing last month but only made three appearances after suffering an ankle injury on his debut for Leicester City.
Solanke has yet to score for his new club and appeared to be improving his match fitness after missing a number of chances in the north London derby defeat to Arsenal last weekend.
Asked if Solanke would have to get used to the high price and increased expectations, Postecoglou said: “I don’t know, because people are just so quick to judge, mate. It’s a small sample.”
“The guy has played less than two (full) games for us. If he’s played 15 games without scoring a goal, I can answer that question, or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed anything, but I just think to myself, ‘Take a breath, do some yoga. Think about the world for a moment and then take stock.’
“We don’t always have to make hasty judgements because the alternative is that he might have had a great start, he’s fit, he’s scored in all four games, he’s at his best and then, like all strikers, he goes through a phase where he doesn’t score goals.
“I just don’t look at those things. I see that he came in, fit in really well and, logically, sustained an injury that thwarted the start of his career as he had planned, but he still has plenty of time for that.”
On Saturday, Tottenham will face Brentford, who transferred Ivan Toney to Saudi Pro League team Al Ahli earlier this month.
There has been talk of Spurs signing Toney. When asked if they were interested in the England international, Postecoglou said: “We looked at him, but I said I wanted Dom. It took practically the whole summer to get him because he fit the profile we were looking for at the time.”
“He’s settled in really well. There’s still a lot to be expected from him… because he’s injured! He just has a few more games to play. But what I’ve seen in the games he’s played suggests he’s going to be a real asset to us. I have no doubt he’s going to make a big contribution.”
Postecoglou also called for more perspective to be put on the reaction to Tottenham’s start to the season after the team won just one of their first four league games. This led to some criticism of the Australian’s management, including boos from the away side when Lucas Bergvall was substituted in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at Coventry.
He said: “People would rather be the first to judge, even if they are wrong, than wait for someone else. That’s the way we live these days. There is a lot more judgement than real reasoned, opinion-based analysis, but that’s the way the world is.”
“I’ve always said that fans are completely free to feel what they feel. I’m not going to dictate the mood of what they do.”
“It doesn’t affect me or what we’re going to achieve. We just have to keep a clear view and focus on what we want to achieve here and what kind of football team we want to be.”
“If that means swimming against the tide sometimes, that’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with that – it makes you stronger.”
Postecoglou was also asked on Friday whether striker Brennan Johnson was affected after he recently deactivated his Instagram account due to criticism of his performances.
“Yes, I’m sure that’s true. It’s a shame that young people have to shut themselves off from something they seem to enjoy for their own reasons because of abuse. I don’t think that’s right,” said Postecoglou.
“I haven’t talked to Brennan about it. The guys know what I’m up to and what I believe. I tell them the same thing over and over again, which is that the most important people in your life are the ones you have to take care of and that their opinion matters and not anyone else’s. Just keep enjoying it.”
Johnson scored Spurs’ winning goal against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
“He won a football match for us the other day with a really good finish and at the crucial moment. I guess if you put any of his critics in that situation, they’d be yearning for a new pair of trousers pretty quickly, I guess. But that’s not what they’re thinking about at that moment.
“But at the same time, Brennan dreamed of becoming a professional footballer since he was a little boy and now he is living that dream.
“I don’t want to think he doesn’t enjoy it. I keep telling him that we’re all pretty blessed to do what we do. Even in the worst of times, we’re still pretty lucky to be able to do what we wanted to do when we were 10 years old. Not many people can say that.”
