Ange Postecoglou: No problem with James Maddison over darts visit after ill call

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has played down talk of a problem with James Maddison after the midfielder spent his Sunday night at the World Darts Championship, having reported ill before the Wolves match.

Maddison made headlines when he was pictured with Spurs attacker Brennan Johnson at Alexandra Palace for the last-16 tie between Luke Humphries and Peter Wright.

He subsequently called a fan on Instagram a “wally” for being critical of his decision to go to the darts, hours after the 2-2 draw with Wolves, where the England international was set to start before being deemed only well enough to be a substitute.

Postecoglou introduced Maddison in the 64th minute but Tottenham conceded late on and dropped more points to fall to 12th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off with in-form Newcastle.

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“Yeah, I’ve got no problem with that,” Postecoglou insisted.

“I’ve got no problem with the players having lives. It’s a lot different trying to play a game of football and living a life. I don’t see any problem with that and I don’t think it hurt him.

“He wasn’t 100 per cent and it was a game where we needed someone to be 100 per cent. He was still well enough to play so it wasn’t like he was bed-ridden.

“If he was bed-ridden, didn’t turn up to the game and then still went to the darts, there may be an issue there. But I had no issue with that.”

All eyes will be on Maddison for the visit of Newcastle – a club interested in the playmaker when he left Leicester in the summer of 2023.

New England boss Thomas Tuchel will also be in attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the experienced midfielder one of a handful on the radar of the German.

While Maddison has eight goals and five assists across 26 appearances this season, inconsistency has been a problem at times with stellar displays combined with occasional poor performances, but Postecoglou defended his form, despite him being on the bench for the last two matches.

Postecoglou added: “He was due to play last week but he was sick so I had to change the team on the day and leave him on the bench.

“I don’t think there’s anything in the way Madders is playing that would mean we would get more game-time.

“I still think the key with Madders is to keep him fit, keep him healthy, keep him sharp and that’s by not playing every game, especially with the programme we’ve got.

“When he’s played this year, his goal tally is strong, he’s always impacted the game and that’s what we need him to keep doing.”

Postecoglou confirmed Maddison had now recovered from his illness, but it had affected other members of the squad and a late call would be made on a handful of players before Saturday’s visit of Newcastle.

“Fair to say, I almost got involved in training yesterday, which is not a good thing,” Postecoglou joked.

“It’s illness so you almost work hour by hour. I’m hoping it’s not too bad but it’s obviously disrupted our training. Hopefully we’ll be OK.”

Despite the repeated challenges, with Spurs set to be without nine players, Postecoglou will not start pulling his hair out any time soon.

He said: “I’d be no good bald, my wife would definitely leave me!

“I’ve never been this kind guy who is ‘woe is me’ and ‘can anything else go wrong’. It’s a hell of a challenge.

“I keep telling the guys in there that it’s just going to make the story better and more interesting at the end, wherever we end up.”