Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou says he has "no choice" but to play Timo Werner against Southampton because he is "pulling kids out of school".

Werner was replaced at half-time of Spurs' 1-1 draw at Rangers in the Europa League and Postecoglou described his display as "unacceptable" and not "anywhere near the level" required.

Tottenham were forced into starting 18-year-old Archie Gray as a makeshift centre-back before bringing on another teenager in Lucas Bergvall with an hour played.

Postecoglou was furious that Werner didn't step up as a senior player but will have to give him another chance on Sunday.

The Spurs boss said: "We've got no choice, I'm pulling kids out of school. I literally am. I'm getting notes from their teachers saying young Lucas (Bergvall) has missed another day of school.

"That was the reasoning for pointing it out, we need Timo, we need all of them.

"He's going to play, of course he's going to play."

When asked on Friday how Werner had or might respond to the comments, Postecoglou said: "I've got no time for that sort of stuff anymore. We're in a fight here, collectively we're in a fight. I'm not going to go around worrying about people's bruised egos.

"We want to achieve things, we want to be successful. We're down to the bare bones in players, if there's somebody in that dressing room who's fit, able to contribute and feels like they need something extra at this moment, he's probably not the right type.

"We had some last night that understand the situation that we're in. We've got 15 fit players, in some positions we've only got two players. I'm not going to go around trying to get extra out of people if they don't give extra right now. That gives me an indication of where they're at."

Postecoglou was then asked if that tied into the wider issue of Spurs' struggle to win a trophy.

Cristian Romero appeared to direct criticism towards the club for a perceived lack of investment after their defeat to Chelsea last weekend, but Postecoglou said: "I'm sick of that. That's an excuse for me. That's why, even with Cristian Romero's comments, I just think that's an excuse.

"At the moment, I'm here, I take responsibility, these players, we're here. If we think some mythical thing exists in this club that prevents success then change it. What's the point otherwise? Don't come here. I just don't buy into that.

"At the moment, we're in a difficult situation because of where we are squad-wise and you either embrace this challenge. If you want excuses, there are a million of them as to why we can't be successful. If that's what your clutch is, particularly in tough moments, what's the point? Move on then. Go somewhere else."

In response to whether he regretted his comments about Werner, Postecoglou said: "No, it wasn't criticism, it was assessment. If we've played poorly, we've played poorly. With Timo, it wasn't about whether he'd played well or not, we had a really difficult game.

"I'm asking 18-year-olds to do massive jobs and you've got senior players - he's a senior player, he's an international, won the Champions League - that there's a level of application and performance you need to rise to, to help the team. He didn't reach that.

"Me taking him off at half-time was a statement enough. The same way I won't hide behind team performances, it's not different to players or anyone else."