I have ‘no interest’ whether fans back me, says Postecoglou
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has stated that he is unconcerned about whether fans support him, following an incident where he was confronted by supporters.
Several Spurs fans directed insults at Postecoglou after the team’s 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on Thursday.
“I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it,” Postecoglou said after the incident.
And, speaking on Friday before Spurs’ London derby with Chelsea on Sunday, Postecoglou added: “They aren’t behind me, they are behind the club. I have got no interest in who is behind me.
“Last night you have to figure the fans who travel to Bournemouth are fairly hardcore supporters.
“They weren’t happy with what they saw and they felt like they needed to give some feedback. I took the feedback onboard and we move on.”
Tottenham have won just one of their last six games in all competitions, although that victory was a 4-0 thrashing of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
When asked if he had a message for angry Spurs fans, Postecoglou said: “As I said last night, no messages. I am here, I am going to fight to make sure we bring success to this football club.
“Nothing really changes. Where there is doubt, whether that is internally or externally, it just gets my resolve stronger to make sure we get it right.”
‘We need to break the cycle’
Tottenham Hotspur will be missing seven first-team players for their visit to Stamford Bridge, with Ben Davies sidelined after sustaining a thigh injury against Bournemouth.
Cristian Romero’s availability remains uncertain as he undergoes assessment on Friday afternoon. However, manager Ange Postecoglou has refused to attribute recent performances to the team’s injury challenges.
“For me the disappointment last night, there was a repeat of cycle of us going into games, starting well enough but then allowing the opposition to get a grip on it by either conceding a sloppy goal – like we did last night – or not taking our opportunities,” he said.
“We need to break that cycle, irrespective of where we are at at the moment. We know we are really thin on the ground in terms of squad numbers. We know there is not a lot of opportunity to rotate and rest players. We paid the price with Benny [Davies] last night.
“Those are known things. What also is known is we repeatedly shot ourselves in the foot in games like last night and we need to change that.”
Postecoglou also defended Tottenham’s decision to sign predominantly young players over the summer.
“We needed to do that because it was a team that was coming towards the end of its cycle, and we were rebuilding not just the squad but the playing style, and you couldn’t replace experience with experience because that is not a rebuild,” he said.
“The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for this club for where we are at right now, and they will bear fruit.”