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Tottenham v West Ham: Stellini reacts when asked if Skipp or Sarr could make way for Hojbjerg
Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini has praised Spurs midfield duo Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr.
The Tottenham coach, speaking to the club , said the two players were “amazing” against AC Milan in midweek.
Stellini also praised the “perfect” work Skipp and Sarr have been putting in behind the scenes.
Tottenham faced a crisis in midfield in Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 trip to Italy.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are out injured, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was suspended for the match.
This meant Spurs had to name Skipp and Sarr in midfield.
Some fans were nervous about the prospect of two relatively inexperienced players up against the Serie A champions.
But even though Tottenham lost 1-0, Skipp and Sarr emerged from the match with a lot of credit.
Up next for Spurs is Sunday’s Premier League meeting with West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stellini held his pre-match press conference on Friday, where he commented on Skipp and Sarr’s displays.
“It was a Champions League knockout game,” began the Italian.
“We played away, in a big stadium, big atmosphere, difficult atmosphere, and they were amazing.
“They played a great match and they were so focussed on the idea of the football we needed to play.
“We’re so pleased they played this great game because, for both, it was important.
“An amazing experience that can fill them with confidence to play the next games.
“They are perfect in training, they push themselves every day to be better every day.”
Stellini was then asked which of the two could make way for Hojbjerg, if at all.
“We will take this decision thinking about the game,” he replied.
“The details in the game will be so important.
“So the decision we take will be about the game and the characteristics of our opponent, and what we need from our players, and the type of game we expect to play.”
Rising to the occasion
Over the years, adversity in a squad has led to opportunities given to youngsters they might not have got otherwise.
This was the case on Tuesday, with Skipp and Sarr both stepping up to the occasion against the mighty AC Milan.
It speaks volumes that Stellini subsequently said he’d have to think about whether Hojbjerg would come back in.
The likelihood is that the Dane will indeed be back. After all, he’s an established first-teamer.
That said, one of Skipp and Sarr will likely experience disappointment on Sunday.
This will hopefully be short-term only, though, because both of them have proven that they should be starting regularly.