Tottenham: James Maddison facing uncertain future as Ange Postecoglou turns up heat on senior players at Spurs | OneFootball

England playmaker facing scrap to win back his place after being left out again against Newcastle

There were two striking things about Ange Postecoglou's line-up for Tottenham's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.

The first was a long-awaited debut for third-choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin, a few days short of his 26th birthday.

Postecoglou described Austin's display in a patched-up back five as “great” and the academy graduate is in contention to keep his place for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool on Wednesday - even with Fraser Forster expected to return from his sickbed and new signing Antonin Kinksy through the door.

The second was Postecoglou's decision to leave out senior trio Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Heung-min Son, despite being without 10 first-team players (by half-time, it was 11 after Radu Dragusin felt unable to continue).

Maddison is suspended against Liverpool on Wednesday was still among Postecoglou's substitutes for the third match running against Newcastle

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“I thought we were going to need some running power and energy early on and, as the game went on, we would be able to use the experience of the guys who came on and I thought it worked well,” said Postecoglou, explaining his thinking. “We finished really strong. That was the whole idea about it.

“Guys like Sonny, Biss and Maddison to a lesser extent, they have played a lot of football and having them fresh helps them mentally as much as physically and I thought all three when they came on made a real difference for us.”

There is every chance that Bissouma and Son were rested with Liverpool in mind - the game feels more significant for Spurs than Saturday, given their dismal Premier League position - but Maddison is suspended on Wednesday and was still among Postecoglou's substitutes for the third match running.

Postecoglou had planned to start Maddison against Wolves a week earlier, only for the playmaker to report ill on the day (he was well enough for an evening at the World Darts Championship that night, which the head coach said was “no problem”) and the 28-year-old may still have been feeling the effects of his illness.

It must, however, have been frustrating for Maddison to sit out against Newcastle because new England head coach Thomas Tuchel was watching from the directors' box, witnessing early goals from Dominic Solanke and Anthony Gordon before Alexander Isak's winner.

Maddison was bright for the final half-hour, after coming on in a triple change with Bissouma and Son, and went closest to an equaliser with a curling shot.

For now, though, getting back in the Spurs side will have to come before any thoughts of a return to the England set up under Tuchel.

Having started the club's first nine Premier League games of the campaign, Maddison has been left out of six of the subsequent 11, and often been restricted to surprisingly brief cameos from the bench, including just six minutes in the 2-1 defeat to Ipswich and 11 in the loss to Chelsea.

When he has played, Maddison has been effective, directly contributing to 12 goals in the Premier League, including a double in the standout 4-0 win over Manchester City and an important strike to make it 2-1 in the 6-3 defeat to Liverpool last month.

Postecoglou, however, has frequently preferred the running power of Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr in his twin No8 roles and does not see Maddison as an option in the front three, where he has played for England and his previous clubs.

As it stands, Postecoglou's vice-captain is heading into the second half of the season with his position uncertain

The Spurs head coach has pointed out that Maddison's good form has been down to careful rotation and repeatedly said that he needs to be at his peak physically to perform at his very best.

But it was easy to wonder if the decision to start Lucas Bergvall, 18, over Bissouma and bench Maddison again was down - at least in part - to Postecoglou's frustration at the midfield pair, who can be brilliant on their day, but tend to blow hot and cold.

The relentlessness of the schedule means Maddison still has a huge part to play in Spurs' season but it would be telling if he returns to the line-up for next weekend's FA Cup third-round tie at non-League Tamworth, only to drop to the bench again for the crunch visit to Arsenal in the north London derby on January 15.

As it stands, Postecoglou's vice-captain is heading into the second half of the season with his position a little uncertain, scrapping for his place in a struggling side.