Tottenham Hotspur remain in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
Although Spurs could only draw at West Ham on Tuesday night, Aston Villa also dropped points, losing to Manchester City the following day.
Tottenham have also played one less game than the fourth-placed Villans, so they’ll surely fancy their chances of pipping them to fourth.
Up next for Spurs is Sunday’s home meeting with Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou held his pre-match press conference on Friday, where he spoke about a number of topics including Giovani Lo Celso’s lack of game time.
How has Giovani Lo Celso been faring at Tottenham this season?
The Argentina international has endured another difficult season at Tottenham, making just six starts in all competitions and clocking up a mere 544 minutes of game time.
After spending 18 months on loan at Villarreal, it looked as though Lo Celso’s time at Spurs was up, and could’ve moved on permanently in the summer.
Instead, Postecoglou gave him a chance in pre-season, and he did enough to prove his worth to the new Tottenham manager, who decided to keep him.
It was hoped that Lo Celso could’ve really kickstarted his Tottenham spell after several false dawns, but he’s still not a regular starter for Spurs.
Admittedly, the 27-year-old has also had to deal with injuries this season, missing 10 matches due to hamstring and muscle issues.
However, Lo Celso hasn’t had much luck even when he has been available, having to make do with cameos off the bench for the most part.
Postecoglou, speaking to football.london, stressed that the World Cup winner isn’t the only player in this situation, and said he has made some good contributions this term.
What has Ange Postecoglou said about Giovani Lo Celso?
“It is not just him,” said the Spurs boss. “There has been a few in that boat where they just haven’t had a real good run in terms of there has been injury disruptions.
“And other times when he has been fit, other players have played in his position, but I still think Gio’s been good for us this year.
“Through that middle patch when we had a lot of injuries, he really stood up for us and then got his own injury of course.
“He made a real impact against Luton at weekend and it really helped us get over the line.
“Look, he’s a fantastic player, but with all these things you’ve got to keep the perspective that we’re at a big club.
“We’re going to have a big squad and if it is not Gio, it will be someone else that will play that role next year.
“No one will play every game. It doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen at all the big clubs, so I am never really worried about the game-time players are playing.
“If they want more game-time, there are other clubs where they can do that and I’m looking at contribution.
“With someone like Gio, like I said he has contributed to us this year and that’s been the most important thing for me.”
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Lo Celso is certainly in a much better position at Tottenham than was previously the case. At least now he is getting some game time.
However, when you consider how often he played at the likes of Villarreal, not to mention in the Argentina setup, it goes to show you just what a top player he is.
As things stand, Lo Celso is a fringe player at Spurs. He’s now 27, his prime years, so for the sake of his career, he should really look to move in the summer.
