Soccer

Postecoglou says he is not considering possibility of being sacked if Spurs go out of FA Cup

Manager backs his players to recover from 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou applauding fans after the final whistle in the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at Anfield, Liverpool, on February 6th, 2025. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou applauding fans after the final whistle in the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at Anfield, Liverpool, on February 6th, 2025. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Ed Aarons
Fri Feb 07 2025 - 22:30
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Ange Postecoglou has insisted he is not thinking about the possibility of being sacked if Tottenham are knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa on Sunday, and has backed his players to recover from their 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool.

A weary Spurs squad returned to London in the early hours of Friday with criticism ringing in their ears after surrendering their 1-0 advantage from the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. They did not manage a shot on target at Anfield, prompting the Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp to describe their performance as “abject”.

Postecoglou has previously received the backing of Daniel Levy despite their struggles this season, with the Tottenham chairman understood to have recognised the mitigating circumstances of 10 senior players being injured. Levy also showed his support for the former Celtic manager by bringing in much-needed reinforcements during the winter transfer window, and Postecoglou was adamant he had not even considered whether defeat by Villa could spell the end.

“That doesn’t enter my head space,” he said. “I get that’s obviously a massive topic of discussion because when things aren’t going well you look at the person who’s largely responsible for that and that’s me. It is what it is. You’ve got to get on with it.

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“It doesn’t change the decisions I make, how I feel, how I work today or how determined I am to continue on this path. Right now the focus is on getting this group of players recovered for Sunday. It’s a big game and hopefully a positive result, and then over the next couple of weeks we’ll get some significant players back, which I think will help.”

Asked whether he still believed in the character of his side after such a damaging defeat against Liverpool, Postecoglou said: “It is really easy – people can sit back from the comfort of their surroundings and say ‘they are not trying.’ Or ‘they lack fight or character.’ But that is not what I see.

“As I keep saying maybe we would have been better off if we had not been in the semi-final and we had a week off and preparing for the FA Cup on Sunday and people would look at us differently. But the fact is that we got to a semi-final. These players worked really hard to get there. We didn’t have an easy road to get there. We had a disappointing night for sure. But I don’t question the character or determination of the players to continue on and try and be a success.”

Spurs were also criticised by the former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who said Accrington Stanley had been tougher opponents at Anfield in the third round of the FA Cup when the League Two side also lost 4-0.

Postecoglou, asked whether he could use such words to prove people wrong, said: “I don’t know which people I’m meant to be proving wrong. I said last night, it’s irrelevant to me what other people’s opinions are. People are on the TV and the radio and in the newspapers to give opinions and I respect that. They’re allowed to do that but I don’t have any obligation to listen to any of it, to get fuelled by the comments of people I’ve never even met.

“I don’t know how you live your life, but I certainly don’t live my life that way. We’re an easy mark at the moment and look, after last night, there are times you’ve just got to take it, keep your counsel and atone for it in the way that only really matters and that is with playing the football I know we can.”

Postecoglou was dismissive about comments made by the Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens, who tried to apologise to his Spurs counterpart after responding to a question about whether injuries had contributed to his team’s defeat to Stockport last week by saying: “I’m not going to make excuses, I’m not Ange Postecoglou.”

Postecoglou said: “He’s had his five minutes, that’s good enough for me.” – Guardian