Yves to pay Ange debt back in silverware

YVES BISSOUMA insists Ange Postecoglou deserves heaps of praise for absorbing so much criticism to protect his players.

- by ALAN SMITH

And the midfielder hopes injury-hit Spurs can repay the faith of “Uncle Ange” by delivering a first trophy since 2008 in Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United.

Bissouma has drifted in and out of Postecoglou’s strongest XI during a season that he admits “has been hard for me personally” but the absences of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall means he is close to a dead cert to start in Bilbao.

Postecoglou (below) knows that even a win might not keep him in position for next season because of their nightmare league campaign, though it has been severely impacted by an injury crisis that he has described as “unprecedented.”

But Bissouma is full of thanks for the Australian because he has taken the blows for the players when their performances have fallen below expectations.