‘We will use them’: Stellini suggests three Tottenham players are going to start against Portsmouth now

Add as preferred source on Google

Cristian Stellini has suggested Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Bryan Gil will all start for Tottenham against Portsmouth tomorrow.

Stellini took the pre-match press conference ahead of the game because Antonio Conte’s former Juventus teammate Gianluca Vialli passed away yesterday.

He was asked if the game might provide an opportunity for Kane to get a rest, but said that a lack of options means he is likely to play.

Spurs have Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison out injured at the moment, and the likes of young striker Dane Scarlett are out on loan.

Stellini suggests Kane, Son and Gil will start against Portsmouth

The Spurs assistant manager said: “It could be an opportunity to give (Kane) a rest but we don’t have many players and the choice is compulsory.

“So we have to choose the players we have in the front line. We have three strikers at the moment and we’ll use them. It’s an important match in an important cup and if you want to respect it you use the players in their positions. At the moment we have those three.

“The FA Cup is a dream for us, for me. When I was a player I was not every time in the top league. So my dream was to see the FA Cup because it gave the possibility for a low team to challenge and to win a top trophy. In Italy we don’t have a chance to do it and I didn’t when I was a player so it’s a dream to me in England.

“When I was a player sometimes I had this possibility and I know the desire of this type of team, Portsmouth tomorrow and Morecambe last season, how important it is for them to play this type of match. So we have to respect this and show our desire. For that reason the FA Cup is an important trophy to try to win.”

It would perhaps be good for Spurs to be able to give some of their stars a rest tomorrow and play some starlets from the off.

But as Stellini says, they have injuries and not a huge amount of options, which means the likes of Kane and Son could start.

That would mean they get the chance to pick up where they left off at Crystal Palace on Wednesday, and Gil may get a chance to net a first goal of the season.