By Matt Law
Ange Postecoglou admitted he is in the dark about his future as Tottenham Hotspur head coach and described the latest defeat by Leicester City as his lowest point of the season.
Second-half goals from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss secured a first win in nine league games for Leicester City and piled more pressure on to the shoulders of Postecoglou.
Tottenham have now lost 13 league games this season and suffered back-to-back defeats against relegation-threatened Everton and Leicester.
Postecoglou said that some of Tottenham’s key players should return from injury in the next 10 days to two weeks. But asked if he will still be in charge then, the Australian said: “Who knows? I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no.
“When you are the manager of a football club, you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club.
“I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that. My role within that is to try to support these players. I can even see in training when the guys who are coming back come back in, it is going to give everybody a lift.
“As I keep saying to the players, there is a fantastic opportunity this season to really make an impact and I know we can. But in terms of your question, is there anything I can say about that that is going to change anything that I need to do tomorrow morning? Nothing.”
Ange Postecoglou with Son Heung-Min after the loss.Credit: Getty Images
Tottenham are 15th in the league table, but are still in the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Europa League, and Postecoglou added: “I really believe that this is as low as we’ve been so far this year, but I still think that in these last three months we can do something really special and these players believe that.”
Tottenham’s supporters directed their anger at chairman Daniel Levy, who was inside the stadium, and Postecoglou said: “Certainly something I wanted to try to do when I took on this role is to try to unify the club and create an environment here where we are all focused on the one thing. Obviously, it hasn’t worked out that way.
“It’s understandable, like you said, the fans are not happy with our current situation. It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home, to create an atmosphere.
Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester City celebrates after scoring the winner.Credit: Getty Images
“It wasn’t that long ago we played Liverpool here and it was a great night. Everyone was focused on one thing. Like I said, the one thing I keep saying and I think it is important to acknowledge, the players are giving everything for this club and I think that is something that needs to be acknowledged by everyone.”
Tottenham are yet to sign an outfield player during the January transfer window and have only a week left to do so. Postecoglou, who could not name a full substitutes’ bench against Leicester, admitted that even one new face could make a big impact for him.
Postecoglou said: “I’ve said all along, the players need help and I’ve also said the club are working hard in that area to try to alleviate some of those problems, because Pape Sarr shouldn’t have played today. He obviously wasn’t fit.
“Even one more player coming in, just in the short term, will give us an opportunity, at least to navigate these last 10 days, two weeks, of what’s been a really hard slog for this group of players.”
Leicester City head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy was the subject of anger from his club’s fans in the defeat to Fulham and was involved in a heated post-game exchange with some of his players.
Van Nistelrooy hailed his squad’s response against Spurs, which lifted them out of the relegation zone, by saying: “I reacted on accountability on last week’s performance. I’m there to hold players accountable. Today, they reacted in a great way. Playing really well on and off the ball.”
But asked if he thought the victory would silence the noise around Leicester, Van Nistelrooy added: “No, of course it’s not going to disappear with the wind. We are not putting energy into the noise around us other than getting better as a team. A draw or win will not change the environment.”
London Telegraph
