Ange Postecoglou held his pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's trip to Everton in the Premier League.

Spurs travel to Goodison Park on Sunday needing to pick up points as they sit 14th in the table following a poor run in the league with just one win in nine matches. Everton are on a similar run having only won once since mid-October and have a returning face in the dugout in David Moyes.

Postecoglou spoke about Moyes, transfers, some new injury concerns, Lucas Bergvall and plenty more in his press conference at Spurs' training ground on Friday.

READ MORE: Postecoglou explains what he's encouraged Bergvall, Gray and Djed Spence to do off the pitch

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou gives four Tottenham injury news updates ahead of Everton clash

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those asking him the questions and here is the full transcript from that press conference at Hotspur Way.

What's the latest team news?

There's a couple still sore from mid-week, just waiting to see how Brennan is, he's got a bit of a calf complaint, and Biss has been sore as well, so just waiting for information on them. Coming back, Ben Davies should be involved.

You criticised the intensity of your players against Arsenal, is that a physical or mental thing?

Could be a bit of both. Especially first half we were way too passive in our approach, with and without the ball. We allowed Arsenal to dictate the game and set the tempo. We weren't really able to make an impact in the way we wanted to. Second half was a bit better but ultimately it cost us.

Is anything happening in the way of transfers?

Club is working hard as it can and that's all you can ask for. January's not an easy month but I do know a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to try to get some reinforcements in.

Was missing out on Randal Kolo Muani a big setback?

For me? No.

You weren't in for him?

We were in... Well, it depends what you mean for in. We've been interested and were looking at a number of players. But did we get to the point where we thought he was coming to us? No.

Are you confident of getting someone in?

As confident as you can be. It is tricky as all clubs are finding. And I guess traditionally it ramps up in that final week so we're approaching there for all clubs. It's even trickier in January because one you try to acquire a player, the club wants to replace that player. So there's all sorts of logistics involved.

Are an attacker and a defender the priorities?

We'll see what's available and what help we can get.

What have you made of Erling Haaland’s very long-term contract?

Yeah it’s interesting. Obviously the player is really happy and I’m sure the club is really happy. He is still a relatively young man and it’s a commitment from both. It’s not unusual in other sports, particularly in American sports. It might be something, I know Chelsea did a couple of longer term ones as well, the way clubs are going in the future depending on how globally the game is moving. I see a lot of benefits for Man City in it and if Erling is committed he is really happy there.

What did you make of Antonin Kinksy’s performance against Arsenal and how has he performed in his first three games?

It’s fair to say we have thrown him in at the deep end. He has had three pretty big challenges in different ways. He is certainly gaining experience very quickly when you look at the games he has played and the challenges within that. I think he has handled it really well. I said from day one, he is a very assured young man. From a goalkeeping aspect he has all the attributes we are looking for and feel would be a good fit for us. Like I said, we have thrown him in at the deep end but we will get enormous benefit from that.

Are surprised at David Moyes being back at Everton?

No not surprised, he showed at Everton (I think he means West Ham) he is still at the top of his game and is a fantastic manager. I think longevity is a measure of your capabilities particularly when you think of how long he has managed in the Premier League itself and he has made an impact at the clubs he has been at.

I’m delighted to see him back because it means I’m not the oldest in the Premier League anymore. If we can get Roy (Hodgson) off a beach somewhere I will be even happier. Glad to have him back. He’s a top guy too. I remember he reached out to me when I was at Celtic a couple of years ago. Top guy David and great to have him back.

How much are the players hurting after losing to Arsenal?

Look I’m sure they are. As I said after the game it’s not acceptable for a club like ours to have that many defeats in a season. Irrespective of the context of the situation we are in, I just feel as much as the defeat on Wednesday night, it was also about the performance in the first half I just felt we didn’t do ourselves justice. I’m sure the players are hurting. Whether the players are hurting or I’m hurting it’s kind of irrelevant. The supporters are hurting. We are the only ones who can change that.

Is the most challenging season in management for you?

Look, every season has got its challenges. I haven’t experienced the kind of injuries or player absences we’re currently going through. Every year is a different challenge, this is certainly a big one and my job is to make sure we get through it.

You're still in three competitions with the cups – are you confident you can still succeed?

It’s not about confidence but I have great belief we can make a big impact for sure. Not withstanding that. We still need to be better and more consistent in the league, irrespective of how we do in the cup competitions. One can feed into the other for sure. We need to go to Everton on Sunday knowing we have European and cup football after that improvement in the league can help us with.

Fraser Forster has been out ill – is he back?

He is back in training doing his first full training session sort of today and maybe the day before the last game. He is back in training.

He's in the last six months of his deal, what’s going on with his contract?

Right now, I think our focus and my focus is on beating Everton on Sunday.

Pedro Porro has played the most minutes in the league, do you have no choice but to keep playing him?

At the moment, yes. We’ve obviously got some alternatives there with Djed and Archie able to play there. All of the guys at the back are doing a hell of a job for us considering our limited options. Hopefully, getting Benny back gives us another option and then Romero and Van de Ven but up until that point – for guys like Pedro, Archie and Radu and the main ones – they have to keep soldering on and doing a job.

You've got Ben Davies back, is it a case now of getting Archie Gray back to being a midfielder or has he done enough to fight for that spot a while longer?

We don't have that luxury. I certainly don't have that luxury at the moment. Getting Benny back is great, but we're still pretty short defensively. We've still got a lot of games even before Micky and Romero and certainly Destiny are back into the fold. So we're still down to minimum numbers. Archie will continue to do what he's been doing mate. He's been contributing every game and wherever that may be for the team he will do that to his best.

I know the January market is a more difficult one but is there any frustration at all that you've missed this key period when the squad really needed help?

It's not frustration. It would be frustration and disappointment if the club weren't working hard, but they are. It's an easy word to say but I know how hard the club have been working behind the scenes to get something done, but it's not easy. You need agreement from three different parties.

Sometimes, when you're in our situation, other clubs realise that and try to make the most of it. That's why I was delighted to get Toni in fairly early. That's helped us for sure, but it's not for the want of trying so I accept that and I'm not disappointed or frustrated. I'm actually pleased at how hard the club is working.

Lucas Bergvall seems to be stronger now late in matches, is that a consequence of the minutes he's getting or specific strength and conditioning sessions you and the coaches have been putting him through?

I think it's been a consequence of the minutes, but also just his growth as a player and getting used to it and at 18, their body's developing. They're still getting used to the levels and he's certainly got a great capacity to work hard for sure and you've seen that in the last couple of games and that's great for us because again with Rodri out and we'll see how Biss is now, he's going to be needed.

Are you getting close to the point of no return when it comes to qualifying for Europe because you're starting to fall a bit behind the pack, if you don't start picking up results in the future?

I just don't look at things like that. Ultimately we've got to win games of football and that starts on Sunday. We've got to go to Everton, try and win and get three points and then focus on Europe after that. To at what's beyond that right now, it serves no purpose for me or anyone else. Where we end up is going to be where we end up, whether that's realising our goals, ambitions or falling short, then time will tell.

How much of a shock would not qualifying for Europe at all be, would that be a major problem?

Again, so you're asking me to talk about something that's just not in my brain space. I mean, we'll get to that point if we get to that point. We may never get to that point and it's irrelevant me talking about it or we may get to that point and then I'll look at it, but right now nothing more important than than us making sure we put in a strong performance away at Everton.

There have been some job adverts for a head of medical among others, what is happening there, was it part of plan or as a result of injuries?

No, that was always part of the planning. We changed the head of our (medical) performance and he’s made sure he has had a good look at how we do things and the structure of everything. Now we had the change and he is looking to bring in new people in these roles, which was always earmarked to happen around this time. Obviously you have to go through a process and maybe some of the candidates were already at other positions, so you have to go through that waiting period as well but that was always part of the planning.

Can you afford to go into the second half of season with your current squad when everyone is available because there will be a lot of games in the cups if you go deep?

Look, it depends on and it is constantly a moving kind of picture with these things. If everyone comes back and stays back and fit, we have players who have missed a fair bit of football, guys like Wilson who has hardly played. Is he going to come back and hit the ground running? You just don’t know with these things. Romero, van de Ven, Destiny have all had significant disruptions, Bentancur has been in and out, lost Timo for a bit now. There are all these moving parts where you just don’t know. Where we sit right now, I think we all know we need some reinforcements and it’s about trying to make that happen if we can in this window.

You mentioned Timo, and I think you said he was due a scan?

Yeah, he’s had a scan and he’s got a hamstring tweak, so probably three to four weeks I think.

You used Maddison and Kulusevski as part of a midfield three for the second half at Arsenal and used that to good effect earlier in season, was there a reason you moved away from using them in middle three?

Yeah, there was a good reason, we were without a striker and I had to play Deki there. I mean like a lot of decisions we’ve had to make have been to try to plug the holes we’ve got and shifted players around to try to manage their load as well. Whilst we’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve also asked a lot of players a lot during this period and we’ve had to try and find ways to manage how much they play so we don’t lose anyone else. We’ve sort of half got away with it I hope but even for guys like Brennan, he picked up a tweak off the back of even him trying to manage his load over the last two months. It has been a big shift for the players in there.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you're curious you can check out our privacy policy here.