Ange Postecoglou Believes All Spurs Fans Want to Defeat Man City, Even if it Benefits Arsenal in the Premier League Race – Says Sporting Values Should Come First.

Ange Postecoglou is confident most Tottenham supporters will share his desire to beat Manchester City even if it helps Arsenal end their 20-year wait for another Premier League title.

He expects the Spurs crowd to create a passionate and positive atmosphere in their final home game of the season, against City on Tuesday, and put the development of their team ahead of their North London squabbles.

And admits he cannot understand those fans with a different viewpoint.

‘I understand rivalry, I was part of one of the biggest ones in the world in the last couple of years with Celtic and Rangers,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I understand the rivalry but I’ve never and will never understand if someone wants their own team to lose.

‘That’s not what sport is about. It’s not what I love about the game. What I love more than anything in the game is the competitiveness, challenging yourself to beat someone and coming out successful. Anything outside of that it’s got nothing to do with sport.

‘If other people want to treat it that way, that they get pleasure from other people’s misery, that’s not how I’ve lived my life and how I perceive my role.

‘My role is to bring success to this football club and I know 100% of Spurs supporters want us to win, to be successful and win trophies. That is without a shadow of a doubt. And us winning tomorrow night will help us bring joy to 100% of Spurs supporters.’

Postecoglou wants to add six more points to Tottenham’s total in his first season in charge, which would be an improvement of nine points on last season.

‘There’s a pretty simple notion to this,’ he added. ‘There’s a game of football tomorrow night. What do you think is going to happen? What do you think we’re going to do as a team? Or any team on this planet. Aren’t we just going to try and win? It’s a simple, basic premise.

‘Now how that makes people feel, I’m not really fussed. I don’t really care. I’d hate to think that anyone will think we’ll go out there tomorrow with anything other than trying to measure ourselves against a top team and maybe win a game of football that’s consequential.

‘How are we ever going to become a team that wins things if in the big games we shy away from it. Why would we shy away from a challenge that exists? Look, I get it if we walk out to 50 per cent boos tomorrow and 50 per cent cheering… but I think that’s highly unlikely.’

City will win the title if they beat Spurs and win their final game of the Premier League season at home on Sunday against West Ham.

‘They haven’t done it yet, that’s an important point,’ said Postecoglou. ‘They haven’t done it yet but if they think you have, then it does become an issue because everyone is putting down the red carpet for them. I’m not going to do that. I don’t think other managers would do that. I’m certainly not going to sit down and watch them win again. That doesn’t sit comfortably with me.

‘That’s in the hands of each club to try to break that dominance and try to create teams that will challenge their dominance.’

Spurs will be without Richarlison, who has a calf injury, and Yves Bissouma, who has a knee injury.