Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Ibrox Stadium in the UEFA Europa League, but the German was taken off at half-time after a dismal performance.

He lost possession 16 times, with only Pedro Porro (20), who played the full 90 minutes, doing so on more occasions for Spurs. He also failed to complete any of his three dribbles and did not win any of his five duels.

His replacement, Dejan Kulusevski, scored the equaliser to rescue a point.

Postecoglou made it clear he was unhappy with Werner's performance, and stood by his public comments, explaining that senior players in the squad needed to step up more because of the club's injury problems.

"It wasn't criticism [of Werner]. It was an assessment," Postecoglou said in his press conference ahead of Tottenham's trip to Southampton in thr Premier League.

"He's an international, he's won the Champions League, he's a senior player. There's a level of application you need to rise to, to raise the team. He didn't reach that.

"It's just an assessment of his performance. On a really challenging night for us – which we knew going into it – he needs to be better.

"We're in a fight here. I'm not going to go away worrying about people's bruised egos. We're here to win things."

Tottenham has lost 14 of its 33 Premier League games so far in 2024, just one fewer than it did in 42 games in 2023. It lost 15 or more league games in consecutive calendar years in 2002 (15), 2003 (20) and 2004 (15).

It has won just one of its past eight matches in all competitions and is winless in its past five since beating Manchester City 4-0 away from home.

Spurs are currently without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, and Guglielmo Vicario at the back, as well as attackers Richarlison and Wilson Odobert.

Postecoglou is under pressure after his side's recent poor run, but he has stuck by his style of play and expects his squad to keep buying into it as it navigates an injury-hit period.

"This football club, we want to achieve things, we want to be successful, and we're down to the bare bones in players," he added.

"If there's somebody in the dressing room who's fit who feels he needs something extra in this moment, he's probably not the right type.

"I'm not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they're not able to give extra now, it probably says something of the type.

"Timo is not where our season is at. It's not about Timo. It's not about bringing somebody down and blaming somebody. We've got a limited number of players. It's a great challenge. I want people who are up for that challenge."