Ange Postecoglou faces a new challenge at Tottenham Hotspur this season. By guiding them to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League during his first year in charge, they earned a place in the expanded version of the Europa League.

Between now and the end of January they will face eight different teams in the league phase, with the matches split evenly between home and away. The opening match is on Thursday at home against Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.

Tottenham have reached the quarter-finals just once in their past seven games in this competition, which they won in the former guise of the UEFA Cup in 1972 and 1984, and were also finalists in 1974, under Andre Villas-Boas in 2012. -13 . They should have a real chance of winning it again and living up to Postecoglou’s declaration that he is “always winning trophies” in his second year. They are among the top teams, alongside Roma, Porto, Ajax and Manchester United.

One of the other changes with the new format is that third-placed teams from the Champions League will no longer enter the knockout stages of this competition. So if Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund drop out of the Champions League after the competition phase, they won’t suddenly emerge, like an overwhelmed boss in a video game, to block Tottenham’s path to the trophy. In four of the last five seasons, a club that started in the Champions League group stages has gone on to reach the Europa League final.

Spurs boss Postecoglou talks to the media ahead of the match against Qarabag (Zac Goodwin/Getty Images)

Postecoglou must find the right balance between giving minutes to players who won’t play for him regularly in the Premier League and fielding teams who can win enough games to finish in the top eight of the new-look Europa League opening stage. If Spurs finish between ninth and 24th, they will face a two-legged tie in February to qualify for the last 16. A lower score will see them eliminated from Europe this season.

Tottenham could only select a 23-man squad for the league phase (academy prospects such as Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore are not included in this number but can still play in the matches), while other clubs were allowed to field a maximum of 25. as UEFA rules state that each team must have eight locally trained senior players and Spurs do not meet that number in their current squad. That’s why they’ve appointed four goalkeepers, including academy graduates Alfie Whiteman and Brandon Austin.

The shortage of homegrown players since the likes of Harry Kane, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp left the club in the past year has meant Spurs have had to name a smaller squad, leading to Postecoglou omitting Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon. It is a particularly shocking scenario for Spence, who has already played for them twice in the Premier League this season and was instrumental in the comeback by beating Coventry City in the Carabao Cup last week.

“It was always going to be a difficult decision. With the composition of our squad at the moment and the lack of club-trained players, we always had to leave someone out,” Postecoglou said after the squad was confirmed. “Djed was the unfortunate one, but at the same time Djed has already played in the Premier League. If you were to ask him at the beginning of the season where he sees himself, the fact that he is part of our squad and will obviously play a large part of the year as he has already done, I don’t think he should take too much . disappointment.

“It’s clear he wants to play, but ultimately for us it was about team balance. We just feel for the squad we have, we have some cover on the right, players who can provide cover on the left, and I always tend to go for more attacking players in those types of scenarios.”

Fraser Forster is the second choice goalkeeper behind Guglielmo Vicario. The 36-year-old’s discomfort playing from the back was clearly visible in the draw against Championship side Coventry. In the opening minute of the match, he misplaced a pass to Lucas Bergvall on the edge of the penalty area, which almost led to Jack Rudoni scoring. Vicario will certainly be needed against stronger opposition, but he cannot be expected to play twice a week until February.

There are only seven defenders in the Europa League squad and they will need to be managed carefully to ensure no one is given too heavy a workload. Archie Gray will provide cover for Pedro Porro at right-back, while Radu Dragusin can rotate with Cristian Romero. Ben Davies could come in for Destiny Udogie or Micky van de Ven.

Postecoglou has an attacking dilemma, with Wilson Odobert and Richarlison currently recovering from injuries. On Wednesday they worked in the gym, while the rest of the team trained outside. Richarlison’s absence will put more pressure on the club’s record £65million signing Dominic Solanke, but it could present an opportunity for fellow 19-year-old striker Lankshear.

GO DEEPER

Brennan Johnson: Feeling the love from his teammates and silencing his Tottenham doubters

Lankshear impressed during this summer’s pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea and is back in first-team training after a hamstring injury. Playing competitive football in the Europa League would be the perfect opportunity for him and winger Moore, 17, to develop. Remember, Kane’s first goal for the club came when he was 18 years old, in a 4-0 win over Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League in December 2011.

The alternative option is to play Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski up front, but they need just as much rest as Solanke. Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s brightest player in the opening months of the season, operating in a central attacking role in midfield and it would be a shame to move him if he is building momentum. And Son may be too busy playing wide twice a week, alongside Brennan Johnson, due to Odobert’s hamstring injury and Timo Werner’s lack of form.

Odobert’s hamstring injury limits Spurs’ options (Mike Egerton/Getty Images)

The only part of the pitch that is not a cause for concern is central midfield.

Even if Rodrigo Bentancur is given a long-term domestic ban for his comments about Son, he will still be allowed to play European matches. Postecoglou could select the Uruguayan international in all Europa League matches, keeping Yves Bissouma fresh for the Premier League. Bergvall has shown creativity and brilliance in his cameo appearances so far in his debut season and it will be exciting to see what he can offer from the start, while Pape Sarr completes a talented midfield.

GO DEEPER

Tottenham, the Europa League and an identity crisis that has extended the trophy drought

Before facing Qarabag, Postecoglou pointed out that during his first 12 months in charge, the squad has evolved to include more players who are “robust enough to play our brand of football”. That will be put to the test over the next four months, when many of them will play twice a week.

The other factor that is important to consider is that this is a young side with limited experience playing in European competitions. Udogie, Van de Ven and Johnson headline a group of players who have never played at this level before. Postecoglou, who managed previous club Celtic in all three UEFA competitions, believes it will be an “interesting challenge” to face teams with “eight different styles”.

The overall message was that this tournament should be embraced, despite the grueling schedule and travel that comes with a schedule that includes matches in Hungary (Ferencvaros), Turkey (Galatasaray), Scotland (Rangers) and Germany (Hoffenheim).

“When you can expose individuals or a group to different environments, there are greater opportunities for growth,” Postecoglou said at his press conference on Wednesday. “Whether it is against an opponent you have never played against, or in a country or stadium with a different atmosphere. All these things provide opportunities for growth and that is what European competition makes possible.

“Last year I kept saying that if we had been in Europe we could have evolved a little faster in terms of what we expose our players to, especially with a young group. For many it will be the first time they participate in a European competition. It will be the first time for us as a group. The team has changed a lot in the past twelve months. For all these reasons, I see it as a fantastic opportunity to evolve as a team in terms of football and hopefully bring us closer to our goal.”

GO DEEPER

Bentancur ‘nearly shouted’ as he apologized for comments – Son

(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)