- Postecoglou thrust Archie Gray into centre-back against Rangers on Thursday
- The teenage star made himself a regular at Leeds – he could do so at Spurs too
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As Ange Postecoglou was demanding senior players step up and take responsibility, teenager Archie Gray was inadvertently proving the point by promising to study hard for a new role and plug the hole in the centre of Tottenham’s defence.
‘It’s a different challenge, a different position,’ said Gray, whose unflappable temperament had been one of the positives to emerge from the Spurs injury crisis.
‘It has differences. As a full-back you’re at the touchline and in midfield you’ve always got a man behind you. Here you can see the whole pitch. I’m just grateful for every minute I play and wherever the manager wants me to play, I’m happy to play it.’
Gray is 18 and it is easy to forget in only his second season of senior football. He burst into the Leeds team in the Championship last season and proved impossible to dislodge, whether at full back or central midfield, the position where most agree he will end up.
The same could end up being the case at Tottenham. Not only because of his qualities as a footballer, which are considerable, but also his mentality. His composure is remarkable and extends beyond the confines of the pitch.
Spurs players were not up for talking after extending a poor run of form to one win in eight with the Europa League draw at Rangers on Thursday, but Gray stepped up and accepted another challenge.
Archie Gray says he is ‘confident in his ability’ after Ange Postecoglou threw him in at centre-back against Rangers
The youngster put in a battling performance as Spurs took a 1-1 draw from the Ibrox
Ange Postecoglou has encouraged him to try the new position amid an injury crisis at the back
He told how central defensive partner Radu Dragusin and goalkeeper Fraser Forster were talking him through the new position during games, and Postecoglou and his coaching staff had designed specific drills for him in training with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies all injured.
‘I’m confident in my ability, I’ll always back myself,’ said Gray, with an eye on Sunday’s trip to Southampton, the team that denied Leeds promotion in the play-off final in May and cleared the way for him to leave Elland Road.
‘They love to play short football. They’re similar to us in a way, how they love to find bounce passes through the pitch and have a free-flowing structure. It will be good to play them again.
‘Even if the results like against Rangers don’t go our way, I’ll always back all of us and back myself to step in and do the job. For us, I think the result is the most important thing. We’re just focusing on playing our football which is the best way to get our results.’
