Tottenham need to overturn a 1-0 deficit against AZ Alkmaar to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League and Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou gave a spiky pre-match press conference
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou (
Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Ange Postecoglou was pricklier than a voodoo doll as he faced his moment of truth at Tottenham - and that old chestnut about always winning a trophy in his second season.
In his two years at Spurs, Big Ange has restored artistic merit to a club blown off-course towards sterility under predecessors Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte or Nuno Espirito Santo’s brief dabble in counter-punching.
But his reign risks being cast as a failure if the door slams on Tottenham’s Europa League campaign against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and the meter ticks over beyond 17 years without a trophy in N17.
And Postecoglou, needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit from last week’s vapid first leg in Holland, did not appreciate the tenor of a legitimate opening question from Sky Sports about this game being win-or-bust for his project.
He growled: “There are not many professions in the world where you have to come in and answer questions like that is there? No, there isn’t, but I am going to be polite and say we’re focused on winning the game tomorrow night and need to put in a better performance than we did last Thursday.
“Obviously that wasn’t anywhere near the standard we want to play, but if we can play with the intensity and tempo we showed at the weekend, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to progress.”
Next up was his big statement that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club. Any regrets about shouting the odds? “I wasn’t making anything up - I was asked a question, I answered that question,” shrugged the Spurs head coach.
“People have sort of used it for their own purposes in suggesting I was making a bold claim, but I wasn’t. I was stating a fact. If it doesn’t happen this year, then I cannot say that any more if I’m asked next year, can I?
“What was I supposed to say - that I always win in the second year but, well I have in the past everywhere I’ve been, here it won’t happen? Is that what people want to hear? People can twist these things and use them (to fit an agenda). Maybe we will defy the odds and I do win something.
“You know what people will say? ‘Isn’t it great that he made such a bold claim.’ I’m really comfortable and proud of the fact that everywhere I have been I have won things. I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t. Whether I win something in my second year here, time will tell.”
Tottenham are looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg (
Image:
Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Big Ange’s second season syndrome was a background talking point in pre-season, but it was Postecoglou himself who was keen to put the record straight after the 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal last September.
That’s when he said: “I’ll correct myself. I don’t usually win things - I always win things in my second season. Nothing’s changed. I’ve said it now. I don’t say things unless I believe them.”
He insists there is no extra pressure on him or Spurs tonight, adding: “We were obviously disappointed with our performance in the first leg and I guess the important thing is we didn’t make the tie impossible for us to get back into. It is still very tight.
“Should we progress then we’ll obviously have another big challenge in the next round (against Eintracht Frankfurt or Ajax), but right now the key focus is to put in a really strong performance at home tomorrow night and we’ll go from there.”
Guglielmo Vicario has admitted the pressure is on Spurs (
Image:
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Such was the injury crisis which hobbled Tottenham’s season that Postecoglou’s four leaders - Cristian Romero, James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Son Heung-min - will start together for the first time since October 19.
“Having all four of them, the whole leadership group out there, will definitely be beneficial,” he said. Goalkeeper Vicario admitted: “The pressure is on us as players because we play the game, so we have to deal with that.
“But we are used to dealing with pressure because we play every three days. We know the importance of this game - for everyone at the club, for us players, for the fans especially. Tomorrow night the ‘real’ Spurs will be judged just on winning. Of course if we don’t win we are out of the competition.
“We know that will be tough so we have to embrace this. The good Spurs tomorrow will be just the winning Spurs. I can say that (the manager’s) approach has been very, very committed since day one when he joined here. We are fully behind him, fully trying to do the right things that he believes are working for us.”
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