LONDON, April 18 — Ange Postecoglou has not had much to smile about in his second season as manager of Tottenham Hotspur but the under-pressure Australian now stands three games away from delivering the club’s first silverware for 17 years.
The 59-year-old former Celtic manager has been mocked for his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season with a club, especially with Tottenham on course for their worst Premier League finish since 1994.
His tactics have been regularly questioned and had Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final away to Eintracht Frankfurt gone badly it might have spelt a hasty end to his tenure. Instead, Tottenham rolled up their sleeves and dug out a 1-0 victory for a 2-1 aggregate win.
With a two-legged semi-final against Norwegian outsiders Bodo/Glimt to come, Postecoglou appears to have bought himself some time and he was not shy in stating that fact.
“I think I said yesterday, I am the same manager today that I was yesterday so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager or whoever thinks I wasn’t doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way,” he told reporters.
“I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect what I do. For me, it’s always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe?
“So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you’re going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, mate.”
Tottenham have lost 17 of their 32 Premier League games this season and are 15th in the table and not mathematically safe from relegation. They have been criticised for being easy to score against, as was the case in the 4-2 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, but on Thursday they went back to basics and defended stubbornly in the face of Frankfurt pressure.
Whether or not it ends up being a turning point in Postecoglou’s reign remains to be seen, but for now the gloom that has enveloped the north London club has lifted.
“Look, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re in the semi-final and will play a difficult opponent in the semi, but it’s not about my belief in the team,” he said.
“What’s more important is the belief the team has had because after a season like ours, it would be very easy for the players and staff, they could have left me in a pretty vulnerable place in terms of them splintering, but I’ve never felt that (even) with all the noise around our season.”
Tottenham host Bodo/Glimt on May 1 with the return a week later. They are at home to high-flying Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Monday. — Reuters
