Ange Postecoglou has advised his Tottenham players to take social media with a pinch of salt after a difficult week for Ryan Sessegnon.
Full-back Sessegnon had surgery on his right hamstring on Monday, after an operation on his left hamstring last summer, and called for people to “be careful what you say online” in a post on his social media channels.
Sessegnon, 23, has endured a torrid time with injuries and faced plenty of abuse on Twitter and Instagram over his fitness woes, but boss Postecoglou likened those platforms to a prison yard.
“I guess the easy thing to say is, ‘look just stay off social media,’ and that’s easy for me to say,” Postecoglou said.
“I can do that but I guess for younger people it’s a vehicle for them or a platform for them to have a voice, which I kind of understand.
“They’ve also got to be mature enough to also know that sometimes the audience, I think for want of a better term, social media is like walking into the prison yard and saying you’re innocent.
“You’re not going to get a hell of a lot of sympathy. Most of it is going to be coming back at you.
“If you’re kind of prepared for that then (fine), but if you’re jumping into there to try and feel good, my sense of it is, I’m not all over it but you’ll rarely come away from it feeling really good about yourself.
“Even with the most genuine of reasons for saying what you want to say or putting out what you want to put out. It’s just that kind of platform you’re invariably going to come away from thinking I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
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Sessegnon is set to spend the rest of the season on the treatment table and is currently joined by Richarlison, who suffered a knee injury during the 2-1 home defeat to Wolves on February 17.
Richarlison is not expected to return until after the international break and Postecoglou will also be without Pedro Porro (muscle) for Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace.
Fifth-placed Tottenham will aim to get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track against Palace and their manager expressed his frustration at the stop-start nature of their campaign.
Early cup exits mean Spurs will only play 41 matches this season and asked if they can make the most of Aston Villa and Manchester United juggling cup commitments, Postecoglou admitted: “I don’t know.
“It depends how you use that time. If you ask me would I rather be in Europe? Absolutely, 1000 per cent I’d rather be in Europe at this time playing games.
“A club like us, who want to compete at the highest level against the best, you need a strong squad and to have a strong squad you need consistent games, consistent game time and opportunities.
“At the moment, if we get an injury then we’re liable to throw in somebody who hasn’t played for four or five weeks. It’s not easy on that player.
“Whereas if you’ve got games, there’s a natural rotation that you need to make all the time and also gives you a little bit of rhythm.
“I had the other extreme last year of 60-plus games at Celtic, but I found that a lot easier to manage than having a disrupted season like we’ve had this year.”
Nuno encouraged by Forest's attitude and commitment, despite Man City defeat
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Nottingham Forest will "achieve what we want" by replicating the attitude demonstrated during their defeat by Manchester City.
Forest went down 2-0 against their title-chasing opponents at the City Ground, and remain just a point clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining.
Despite the defeat, the hosts produced a spirited performance against Pep Guardiola's side, while registering 14 shots on goal compared to 11 from the Citizens - meaning they had had more shots in both meetings this season.
Forest face already relegated Sheffield United, Chelsea and fellow strugglers Burnley in their final three games, and Nuno has seen enough to be confident of securing the Reds' Premier League status for another year.
"We played a good game, were compact, organised and had chances," he told Sky Sports. "We did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City, and the players gave it a big go.
"We are disappointed with the result, but the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important.
"We stay positive, and we go for the next three games. With this attitude, we will achieve what we want."
Defender Moussa Niakhate echoes his manager's thoughts, adding: "We had three big chances in the first half, but we didn't score. That was the difference.
"Everybody is working hard. We can be proud. If we perform like this in the next three games, we'll stay up."
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Gvardiol: Four more finals for City in title fight
Josko Gvardiol believes there are "four more finals" for Manchester City between them and the Premier League title.
City won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday thanks to a first-half header from Gvardiol before a 71st-minute Erling Haaland finish wrapped up the points.
The victory moves City one point behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. The Gunners played earlier on Sunday, winning 3-2 at north London rivals Tottenham.
The destination of the Premier League title remains in City's hands as they bid for a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, and Gvardiol acknowledged that every game between now and the end of the season is vital.
"We need to be focused on ourselves," Gvardiol told Sky Sports. "That’s what we are doing.
"There are four more finals to the end so let's do it."
Gvardiol's goal set City on course for victory at the City Ground, nodding home from Kevin De Bruyne's inswinging corner.
It was only Gvardiol's second Premier League goal since arriving at City from RB Leipzig prior to this season.
Gvardiol was somewhat surprised to get on the scoresheet, saying: "I didn't expect to score, but I found myself in a good position.
"It was really tough especially as the pitch was really dry. It's a more than important three points."
Pep Guardiola was delighted to come away with the three points against a Forest side fighting for their lives at the bottom, with the defeat to City leaving Nuno Espirito Santo's men in a perilous position, just a point above the relegation zone with three games to play.
"It was a difficult game," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "They played with bravery. They have fast players with a lot of quality.
"It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. These games are so, so tough at this stage in the Premier League. Now we have a long week to recover."
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