Ange Postecoglou has called for patience from anyone rushing to judge Dominic Solanke after his £65 million ($86m) move from Bournemouth.
The 27-year-old became Spurs’ club-record signing last month but has made just three appearances after suffering an ankle injury on his debut at Leicester City.
Solanke is yet to score for his new club and looked in need of more match fitness when missing a couple of opportunities in last weekend’s north London derby defeat to Arsenal.
Asked whether the price tag and increased level of expectation was something Solanke would have to get used to, Postecoglou said: “I don’t know because people are just so quick to judge, mate. It’s a small sample.
“The guy has played less than two [full] games for us. If he has gone 15 games without a goal then I can answer that question or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed, but I just think ‘take a breath, do a bit of yoga. Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that.’
“We don’t have to rush to make judgement all the time because the alternative is he may have got off to a great start, he is fit, scored in all four games, is flying and then he goes through a patch like all strikers where he doesn’t score.
“I just don’t look at those things. What I look at is he has come in, fitted really well and quite logically has picked up an injury that has disrupted the way he wanted to start his career, but he’s still got plenty of time for that.”
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On Saturday, Tottenham face Brentford, who transferred Ivan Toney to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli earlier this month.
Spurs had been linked with a move for Toney and when asked whether they were interested in the England international, Postecoglou said: “We did look at him but I have said Dom was the one I wanted and it took pretty much the whole summer to get him in because he was the one who fitted the profile of what we were looking for at the time.
“He’s settled in really well. There’s plenty more to come from him … because he got injured! He just needs to get some games under his belt. But what I’ve seen in the games he has played, he’s going to be a real asset for us. I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a great contributor.”
Postecoglou also called for a sense of perspective in the reaction to Tottenham’s start to the season after winning just one of their opening four league games, leading to some criticism of the Australian’s management including boos from the away end when substituting Lucas Bergvall during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at Coventry.
He said: “People would rather be first to make a judgement even if they are wrong rather than wait for someone else. That is the way we live our lives these days. There is far more judgement than real reasoned, opinionated analysis, but that is the way of the world.
“I’ve always said fans are more than free to feel what they feel. I’m not going to dictate the mood of what they do.
“It doesn’t impact me or what we’re going to achieve. We’ve just got to stay clear-eyed and focused on what we’re trying to achieve here and the kind of football team we want to be.
“If that’s swimming against the tide sometimes, that’s alright, nothing wrong with that — it makes you stronger.”
Postecoglou was also asked Friday about whether forward Brennan Johnson had been affected after recently deactivating his Instagram account amid criticism of his performances.
“Yeah, I’m sure it does. It’s a shame that something that young people, for their own reasons, seem to enjoy they have to close off from because of abuse. I don’t think that’s right,” Postecoglou said.
“I haven’t spoken to Brennan about it. The lads know what I’m about and my beliefs. I keep telling them the same thing, that the most important people in your life, they’re the ones you’ve got to worry about and their opinion, not anyone else’s in terms of validation. Just keep enjoying it.”
Johnson scored Spurs’ winner against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
“He won a game of football for us the other night with a really good finish and at the critical moment. I reckon you put any of his critics in that situation and they would be looking for a change of pants pretty quickly, I reckon. But they don’t think about that in that moment.
“But at the same time Brennan has had a dream of being a professional footballer his whole life from a little kid and now he’s living that dream.
“I’d hate to think he’s not enjoying it. I keep saying to him we’re all pretty blessed to do what we do, even in the worst of times we’re still pretty lucky to be able to do what we wanted to when we were 10 years old, not many people can say that.”
