Tottenham Hotspur are through to the FA Cup fourth round – but manager Ange Postecoglou is struggling to save his team’s season in the Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou remained calm after his side’s FA Cup win over Tamworth, but he has often appeared frustrated this season.
Spurs have performed well in cup competitions so far this term, boasting a slender edge in their Carabao Cup semi-final with Liverpool, snatching a place in the next round of the FA Cup, and contending for a Europa League top-eight finish. This is juxtaposed by their Premier League form, with Tottenham, sitting 12th after winning one of their last eight matches.
Following a recent defeat by Newcastle United, Postecoglou declined to dig out the referee, opting to repeatedly answer with nine variations of “if everything was equal” during one BBC interview. “No, because I know what everyone wants me to say, but all I’ll say is that on any other day, on a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game. Simple as that,” Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference.
Yet sports reporter Faye Carruthers shared on the Seaman Says podcast that this wasn’t the first instance of Postecoglou showing strain post-match. The reporter recalled a similar incident from his team’s loss to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, sharply contrasting with his pre-match demeanour.
“He’s started to unravel a bit in terms of his post-match,” Carruthers said. “Pre-match, I had a lovely chat with him [vs Nottingham Forest] and he’s so polite and really engaging, which everybody says he’s like. He was really lovely, very respectful, very nice.
“But post-match, it started fine but he accused me of putting words in his mouth, which I hadn’t, I’d just interpreted what he’d said in terms of the energy levels. It’s really difficult, I’m trying to give him an opportunity to explain the positives because actually I thought they’d played really well against Forest. It was a much tighter game, and they played better than they had done. But ultimately lost it.
“The post-match interviews that he gave to more than one outlet after the game against Newcastle were really spiky and a little bit disrespectful to reporters, which he has been on occasion before as well.”
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There was no repeat on Sunday, as Postecoglou’s blushes were spared by Spurs defeating National League side Tamworth in extra time. A major upset would have been a huge blow for Postecoglou, who has vowed to win a cup this season.
However, there is little time to dwell on the win as Tottenham head to Arsenal in the North London Derby on Wednesday. Spurs are 12 points off a top-four place, and Carruthers believes the pressure is taking a toll on the manager and is showing in his interviews.
“The reason I get annoyed with people calling him “Ange” or “Big Ange” is because he’s not your mate,” Carruthers explained. “But having interviewed him once, I don’t think he is arrogant. I just think he’s under an incredible amount of pressure and that things aren’t going his way this season.”
Meanwhile, the Spurs board remain in support of Postecoglou, although the recent string of dismal league results has placed wider scrutiny on the Tottenham boss.
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