Ange Postecoglou has praised Son Heung-min for his ‘outstanding’ performances since being named Tottenham captain in the summer.
The South Korean was appointed club captain ahead of the campaign after the departures of Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane and has responded with another impressive season in north London.
Son scored a late winner against Luton at the weekend to keep Tottenham’s bid for a top-four finish on track and has netted 15 goals in the Premier League this season.
His decisive strike was also his 160th in all competitions since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, moving him up to fifth among the club’s all-time leading scorers.
The 31-year-old is set to make his 400th appearance for Spurs in Tuesday’s clash with West Ham and Postecoglou was full of praise for the performances Son has produced since being appointed captain.
“It wasn’t a big decision. With Hugo [Lloris] being a huge influence and Harry [Kane] as well, Eric Dier too – there are others who have been at the club a long time,” Postecoglou said at his pre-match press conference.
“Part of it all along was that I felt like we needed to make a change to show we are going in a new decision.
“I felt Son was a natural and he has been a leader within his national team. I had no hesitation putting him in that position.
“Sometimes when you get the official title it can be a burden, but his performances have been outstanding.”
Postecoglou added Brennan Johnson to his attacking options in the summer and the 22-year-old has emerged as an impact substitute in recent months.
The Wales international came off the bench to create both goals in the weekend win over Luton and Postecoglou has been delighted with his development since arriving from Nottingham Forest.
“Brennan was super at the weekend and he is another one who is young and still developing. He moved to a big club with huge expectations.
“He did well against Villa, but not great against Fulham. But he come off the bench [against Luton Town] and made an impact. He is another one who is understanding more the way we want to play.
“It was always going to be a tough introduction when you are a young player. It is always harder when you’re an attacking player.”
Spurs head into the clash with West Ham fifth in the table, three points behind Aston Villa with a game in hand.
On what he hopes for across the run-in, Postecoglou said: “We want to finish the season strong and keep building on the foundation of being a team that hopefully in 12 months’ time people are looking at us differently and talking about us differently.
“To do that it can’t just be about where you finish and how many points you get, it’s got to be more than that. Obviously if we finish strong then we’ll finish in a decent position and we’ll see where that takes us.”
