Ange Postecoglou says he does not worry about players' "bruised egos" after saying Timo Werner's performance against Rangers was "not acceptable".

Tottenham came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at the Ibrox Stadium in the Europa League on Thursday, but the German was taken off at half-time after a dismal performance.

He lost possession 16 times, with only Pedro Porro (20), who played the full 90 minutes, doing so on more occasions for Spurs. He also failed to complete any of his three dribbles and did not win any of his five duels.

His replacement, Dejan Kulusevski, scored the equaliser to rescue a point.

Postecoglou made it clear he was unhappy with Werner's performance on Thursday, and stood by his public comments, explaining that senior players in the squad needed to step up more due to their injury problems.

"It wasn't criticism [of Werner]. It was an assessment," Postecoglou said in his press conference ahead of Tottenham's trip to Southampton.

"He's an international, he's won the Champions League, he's a senior player. There's a level of application you need to rise to, to raise the team. He didn't reach that.

"It's just an assessment of his performance. On a really challenging night for us — which we knew going into it — he needs to be better.

"We're in a fight here. I'm not going to go away worrying about people's bruised egos. We're here to win things."

Next Up: Southampton on Sunday

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— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 13, 2024

Tottenham have lost 14 of their 33 Premier League games so far in 2024 (W14 D5), just one fewer than they did in 42 games in 2023. They last lost 15+ league games in consecutive calendar years in 2002 (15), 2003 (20) and 2004 (15).

They have won just one of their last eight matches in all competitions and are winless in their last five since beating Manchester City 4-0 away from home. 

Spurs are currently without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, and Guglielmo Vicario at the back, as well as attackers Richarlison and Wilson Odobert.

Postecoglou is under pressure after their recent run, but he has stuck by his style of play and expects his squad to keep buying into it as they navigate this injury-hit period.

"This football club, we want to achieve things, we want to be successful, and we're down to the bare bones in players," he added.

"If there's somebody in the dressing room who's fit who feels he needs something extra in this moment, he's probably not the right type," Postecoglou said.

"I'm not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they're not able to give extra now, it probably says something of the type.

"Timo is not where our season is at. It's not about Timo. It's not about bringing somebody down and blaming somebody. We've got a limited number of players. It's a great challenge. I want people who are up for that challenge."