Ange Postecoglou has said the media believes he will be sacked even if Tottenham rescue their season by winning the Europa League.
The manager, who accused critics of always trying to “turn gold into crap”, was in spiky mood before his side host the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt and has clearly taken note of the talk over his future. Postecoglou has talked about ignoring external noise but he responded to a question about wanting to prove people wrong by picking out a reporter who wrote that success in Europe would not save the Australian’s job.
“I just think we’re in that position that the good stuff we may do is going to be turned into a glass-half-full rhetoric and, from that perspective, I don’t think that can be a driver in what we want to do,” Postecoglou said. “The lads are really keen to bring success to the club. I just think there’s a real determination to take the opportunity that they’ve earned at this point.
“I think [someone] wrote that even if we win it I’m gone anyway. That’s not having a go at you, that’s just saying the general sentiment of people. So if you’re trying to use that as a motivation, you’re not going to win that anyway. There’s got to be more in it for us, and for us what is the most important thing as a group is that we’ve been through a really tough time but we’re still in a position where we can make an impact.
“We’re in a quarter-final and I don’t know how many times the club has been in a quarter-final in European competition. You don’t want to let that slip you by or have the wrong mindset going into it. I think the players are handling it well. They’re going to face a top team but they have the capabilities to overcome that.”
Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Fulham’s Marco Silva will be in the frame if Spurs, who are 14th in the Premier League after 16 defeats from 31 games, sack Postecoglou. Reports in Germany cite Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner as another contender. Postecoglou is under pressure before facing Frankfurt, who are third in the Bundesliga, and he bristled at the attention paid to a dispute between Brennan Johnson and Mathys Tel over a penalty during last Sunday’s win over Southampton. Johnson won the spot kick and looked deflated after the ball was handed to Tel, whose successful conversion put Spurs 3-1 up.
“It’s incredible, it’s just literally turning gold into crap when it’s Tottenham,” Postecoglou said. “Seriously. If we’re 2-1 up tomorrow night and get a penalty in the last minute, I want the best penalty taker to take it. The one slight against this club is apparently it hasn’t been a winner. Well the winner’s mentality in the last minute of the game is to score a goal.
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“We scored a goal. And yet somehow in this ultimate universe where everything Tottenham does is wrong, that’s come out as a negative. I was delighted because if that’s tomorrow night and we get a penalty in the last minute and get a third goal which could be really decisive, I’m really pleased with the way the players handled it.”
