The pressure is rising on Ange Postecoglou after Tottenham suffered their 12th defeat of the season at Everton; Spurs have lost 24 out of their last 50 games – winning just nine league games in nine months.
Spurs’ 3-2 defeat to Everton has left them 15th in the Premier League table – closer to the relegation zone than the European places.
The loss, which saw Postecoglou’s side go 3-0 down at half-time to a team that had scored 15 goals in 20 games beforehand, was Spurs’ 12 defeat of the season and continues a dismal run of one win – against basement club Southampton – in their last 10 games.
Spurs’ dozen defeats this term is the most they have suffered after 22 league games in over a quarter of a century – while they only have nine Premier League wins in the last nine months – losing 24 out of the last 50 matches.
My understanding is he’s not under any severe pressure. I think there’s pressure because they’re 15th in the league. To them, it is unacceptable.But Postecoglou said that himself. He also said, and he’s right, that they are still in three cup competitions, but the league position is not acceptable.
So, there is pressure. But in terms of his job security, I do believe he still has the full backing of the board.
But the next three or four weeks determine Tottenham’s season. If the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero come back in the next few weeks, they could qualify for the Europa League last 16, they might get to the Carabao Cup final, they might beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup.Then you’re turning around and saying, actually, this could still be a good season.However, they could lose to Hoffenheim in Europe on Thursday, get knocked out of that top eight, and then they’ve got two extra games to reach the latter stages of the Europa League. They could lose at Anfield in the second leg in the Carabao Cup and they could go out to Villa.If that were to happen it could be a tough few months until May.
I think there’s an acceptance that these injuries are seriously derailing the side. They’re not just the odd injuries, they’re bad injuries.People can blame him on the style of play which has led to hamstring injuries. You cannot blame Postecoglou on Dominic Solanke kicking a ball in training and his knee going.Postecoglou has said for the last two or three weeks to me and colleagues: Dom needs help. And now Dom is injured.It’s the 20th of January and no outfield signing has come in. Yes, January is difficult, but he really does need some help now.
I do believe so. They have to bring players in. January is not easy, but it is achievable. Spurs have had some good January windows.For example, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were January signings and now they’re Tottenham’s two best players. So it can happen.But European clubs aren’t as keen to give away their players in January. We’ve got European football in January now, which has never happened before.But even so, I still believe that Spurs will bring in at least one player, but it needs to happen quite soon.
Mixed is probably a fair assessment right now after the defeat to Everton.When he joined, I’ve never known love like it. Postecoglou said it himself, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was like being in a nightclub. Even Robbie Williams started singing songs about him.And then they went on a poor run when they had that Chelsea game, that 4-1 defeat on Monday Night Football. The season just derailed after that and Postecoglou didn’t really get that back.Many fans just think it’s not his fault and that he’s not been backed. They feel the squad’s not good enough, he needs money, they need better recruitment.