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Ange Postecoglou has promised Tottenham will give Tamworth the utmost respect and insisted the non-league club’s artificial pitch is an improvement on the toad-infested surface he once encountered in Fiji.
Spurs will aim to navigate a huge banana skin on Sunday when they face National League opposition Tamworth in the FA Cup with 96 places between the clubs ahead of the plum third-round tie at The Lambs Ground.
When quizzed on Tamworth’s artificial surface, Postecoglou recounted a tale from his time as South Melbourne boss when they won 5-1 against Nadi in the final of the 1999 OFC Club Championship, which sent them through to FIFA’s Club World Championship where they faced Manchester United.
“The toads? I was in South Melbourne back in 1999 and it was the first qualifying for the first-ever World Club Championship in Brazil, which famously Man United pulled out of the FA Cup for.
“A fair bit of prize money at stake I remember for a club like ours and in the final of that we had to play in Fiji, because we were an Oceania team.
“Warming up there were toads we had to remove, which kept jumping on the pitch.
“At the time, you’re kind of going ‘really?’, but when you realise what was at stake, a fair bit of money and the opportunity to play at the Maracana against some of the best teams in the world, we ended up playing Man United, Vasco de Gama and Necaxa of Mexico, it was quite extraordinary.
“Our president at the time, George Vasilopoulos, who is still around, had these worry beads. They got a working out that day, let me tell you!
“He kept thinking about our bank balance and seeing frogs and toads on the field. It’s an experience.”
Postecoglou can also lean on his own underdog story of when South Melbourne narrowly lost 2-0 to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United as a prime example of why no one at Tottenham will underestimate Tamworth on Sunday.
He added: “We ended up losing 2-0 on the day but we gave a decent account of ourselves, given the difference, not five tiers, but a fair difference between us.
“Some of my players who were semi-pro but good footballers probably played the best game of their lives that day.
“What we’re going to face on Sunday is probably players hoping to play the best game of their lives on that day. That’s why you’ve always got to be respectful of what they face.”
Spurs will be without Rodrigo Bentancur with the midfielder set to follow concussion protocols after he suffered a head injury during Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Liverpool.
Bentancur will be absent for a minimum of 12 days with a preliminary return date set for the Europa League trip to Hoffenheim on January 23.
However, Postecoglou expressed his frustration at speculation over the Uruguay international, who appeared to accidentally headbutt the floor, but this failed to stop false speculation over his wellbeing on social media.
“I don’t understand. We’re talking about people’s health,” Postecoglou said.
“He was concussed. He’s had every check. Everything was fine. There’s nothing apart from the concussion and we will follow the concussion protocols.
“I find it really distasteful. We can literally say anything these days and people will take no offence or are not affronted by the fact people have no basis for anything.
“He’s good. He was concussed. Everything else checks out fine and he will go through the protocols and aside form that we will make sure he is absolutely fine before he starts again.”
