Brutally honest Ange Postecoglou pinpoints shocking mistake behind Tottenham’s awful run of form
Under-pressure Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has outlined why his team has failed to fire this season in the Premier League – and accepts some long-suffering fans have ‘lost faith’ in his squad.
Spurs sit 14th on the table after 15 defeats from 29 games – a far cry from last season, when ‘Aussie Ange’ guided his team to fifth spot.
And while Tottenham reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, the playing group are clearly fatigued.
Injuries have also played their part in the series of poor domestic results, but Postecoglou, 59, believes the seemingly never-ending fixture list has seen his players take their eyes off the main prize – performing across 38 games in the Premier League.
He faces an uphill battle to keep his job in north London beyond next month, with Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola the rumoured first-choice target to take over.
Postecoglou told Socceroos great and former Middlesborough and Fulham goalie Mark Schwarzer he understands why many rusted-on supporters are frustrated.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has outlined why his team has failed to fire this season in the Premier League
The former Celtic boss concedes his team has been poor domestically
‘It’s been a tough season. There’s no hiding from it. It hasn’t gone anywhere near the levels we wanted,’ he told Optus Sport.
‘There’s frustration in that we’ve seen glimpses of what we want, but then [there have been] enormous setbacks.
‘But in the league, we have been nowhere near it, it has been disappointing.’
The former Celtic boss added the football schedule for players – many of whom also play international football for their nations – is far too draining.
Asked to name the biggest challenge his team has faced this season, he went back to the very beginning of their campaign.
‘I think we got the start of the year wrong,’ Postecoglou admitted.
‘It’s become increasingly challenging for footballers, they don’t get the traditional break.
‘I think we went into the season really hard and underestimated the challenges of Europe with the two extra games, having a cup run… all those things.’
The under-fire Spurs boss has conceded that his team got their approach to the season wrong right from the very start
The 59-year-old remains ‘bullish’ about his team, but given Spurs must win the Europa League to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season, Postecoglou appears to be on borrowed time.
Postecoglou’s declaration he always wins silverware in his second season at the helm will also more than likely come back to haunt him.
But as always, Postecoglou remains defiant.
‘Surviving tough times can often unite people,’ he said.
‘Because you think there’s nothing down the track which will be anywhere near as bad as what we’ve gone through. We’ve survived and we’ve stuck together.
‘I guess the biggest way we can influence our fans is by giving them hope, I know some have lost faith in what we are trying to do.
‘We have still got things to play for in Europe and we’ve got to try and finish the season off in a positive way.’
