Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou admits he was unimpressed by Ben White targeting Guglielmo Vicario in defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
White twice shook up the Spurs goalkeeper which led to the Gunners twice scoring.
Ahead of tonight's clash with Chelsea, Postecoglou said: "It's a strategy. You can label it, but it's a strategy. I don't take a lot of interest in that stuff, never have. I'm not casting judgement, but I just don't really care. If people are going to think that's going to give them an advantage or whatever, I just don't worry about that stuff. I just try to focus on building teams that win things," he said.
On whether it distracted Vicario, he continued "You know what? If it's not going to be that then it's going to be something else. Who cares? I know it's great theatre. Whether he's trying to undo his glove, tickle his armpit, or whatever, I don't care. I try to get my players not to worry about that stuff, not focus on that stuff.
"It's not important and if you want to go down that avenue, what's he supposed to do? Turn around and throw a punch and knock him out or say 'please don't touch me'. What does that do? Seriously, we're not in the school yard. It's never been where my focus lies.
"To be honest, if I saw one of my players do it I'd be saying 'Mate, seriously? Get the ball and play some football'. That doesn't mean it's not a strategy that can't be used, but I just don't care about it. Makes no impact on me."
The manager added: "I'm ancient, mate, but I always thought that the goalkeeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that's shifted now and I missed the memo."
