Vertonghen: We must cut out errors
Spurs have too often looked flaky at the back and blunt going forwards, yet they enter Sunday’s match looking for a fourth straight win in all competitions. It is something Vertonghen is obviously aiming for, although he concedes wins over Brighton, Aston Villa and Asteras are hardly a yardstick by which to measure success. “Of course, if you win three games in a row, it’s positive,” he said. “You have to look at the name of the opponents as well, but it is a run and we will take a run and hopefully we can continue doing that on Sunday.” Vertonghen is likely to retain his place in the starting line-up against Stoke, although Federico Fazio may well find himself back on the bench. The summer signing from Sevilla has had a tough start to life in north London, with his sending-off in Greece the second of his short time with Spurs. “It is harsh for him because [on Thursday] he played a good game and defensively he is very strong,” Vertonghen said of his fellow centre-back. “I love playing with him and if you see his red cards he has been unlucky and I think he is settling in very well. “I started playing straight away [when I arrived from Ajax] because of injuries – Younes Kaboul with his knee and William Gallas wasn’t fit – and I ended up playing with Michael Dawson. “This year everyone is fit and you have to take your chances whenever you play, and he shows us he is doing that. “You can’t compare his position to mine because we have more defenders, but I love the way he is settling in.” Those struggles will buoy the Potters ahead of Sunday’s trip to north London, as will the hosts’ unconvincing performances of late. Pochettino’s men were fortunate to scrape through 2-1 winners at Asteras Tripolis on Thursday – producing an inept second-half display which Vertonghen knows would cost them dear if repeated on Sunday. “It was strange because we didn’t win second balls,” the Belgium defender said. “That team can play and the most important thing was they felt they could do something against an English team. “I have been in that position with Ajax playing bigger teams and if you can get some hope you start playing differently and that’s what we gave them ourselves. “It is a long way [off building a winning mentality like Ajax]. It is not [a case of] pick the line-up and you win every game since then. You can have ups and downs. “Of course, we won, but it was not that positive, so we have to analyse this game and see where it went wrong. Then we have to continue and avoid making those mistakes in the next game. “That’s what we have to do against Stoke, because if we make these mistakes against Stoke probably we will lose this game.” Mauricio Pochettino’s side, like so many Spurs outfits before them, have struggled to balance domestic and continental exertions. Already this season Liverpool, West Brom and Newcastle have won at White Hart Lane in games following European ties – the joint highest number of home defeats in the Barclays Premier League. Jan Vertonghen knows Tottenham need to vastly improve for the visit of Stoke if they are to avoid another post-Europa League slip-up. Press Association
AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThisALPENA, Mich.— MidMichigan Health Center is cracking down on face to face visits. The healthcare facility is urging patients to use the Virtual Health Clinic to help slow down the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.The Virtual Health Clinic offers the option for patients to set up appointments and provides a video visit with a doctor where a physical exam is not required. For many of the MidMichigan locations, facility hours are shorter and some of the clinics and walk in services have closed.Patients who are needing to be seen in person are asked to wear a cloth mask covering the mouth and the nose upon entering the building. If an individual does not have a mask, they will not be turned away and will receive one at the door.If you wish to make an appointment online you may call 1–888–591–0500.AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to MoreAddThisContinue ReadingPrevious Local health departments issue emergency orderNext Alpena County Library provides online resources for the public
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has said that the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease exposed the weakness in the health sector of countries. She has warned that as a lesson from the Ebola crisis, Africans governments should now see the need to develop a robust public health systems in their various countries.Dr. Zuma, a former Health Minister of South Africa, said if this is done, it will help African governments to respond sufficiently to such outbreaks as the EVD and any other future health eventualities.Speaking in Monrovia last week, the AUC boss also said that governments on the continent should put a lot of emphasis on health and hygiene being taught in schools so that children grow up having a good understanding about health issues, including infectious diseases and among others.She was addressing a press stakeout along with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the foyer of the Foreign Ministry during a solidarity visit. Dr. also stressed that Africans should make sure that our various cultures and health should go together.Dr. Zuma, who was heading a 14-member delegation that paid a daylong official visit to Liberia, said they were in the country to express solidarity and sympathies to the government and people of Liberia.“We are very happy to be here, even though under difficult circumstances, to show and express our solidarity and to also extend our sympathies to those who have passed due to the Ebola crisis,” Dr. Zuma said.She commended Liberia for its fortitude and courage in facing this very difficult situation. “We hope that you will continue and sooner rather than later you will be successful in dealing with Ebola.”On lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak, the AU Chairperson emphasized that health and education should be embedded in each country’s economic development plan. “If there is no health and skills, there can be no economic development,” she warned, adding, “You need both human and financial capital. All our countries should be strengthening their health services and making sure that investment in its citizens is strong.”“Countries like Japan they don’t have many mineral resources, but they invest more in health and education and we can see how far these countries are developed. So in all of our countries we need to prioritize the issues of health and education,” she said.Dr. Zuma disclosed that the AUC is trying to mobilize more human resources from member states to contribute to the efforts of the international community to contain and eradicate the virus that’s devastating the sub-region.The African Union has already deployed a 36-member team of medical personnel to assist with the fight against Ebola under the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak Operations in West Africa (ASEOWA).She disclosed that the AU is also trying to mobilize the business community within the region to contribute to the fight against the Ebola virus disease as well post-Ebola “because of the socio-economic challenges it will pose afterwards.”Meanwhile, many health experts, both continental and global, have noted that the level of devastation or destruction carried out by the Ebola Virus Disease in the Mano River Union basin since its outbreak is as a result of the fragile state of the public health systems in the region. Similar situations also exist in most parts of the African continent, they said.This rendered citizens of these countries vulnerability to any viral attacks as it is being experienced with this outbreak, health experts have maintained.The outbreak of the Ebola Virus disease further laid bare the vulnerability of countries of the African continent, situations that are most times attributed to corruption and bad governance on the continent.The AUC delegation that visited Liberia included the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA), Dr. Carlos Lopes; the head of the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak Operations in West Africa (ASEOWA), Major General Dr. Julius Oketta; and African Union Commission Ambassador to Liberia, Ambassador Toyin Solaja.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)