Ange Postecoglou came out fighting on behalf of his beleaguered Tottenham players after a barrage of criticism following their Carabao Cup exit at Liverpool.
Pundits on TV and radio weighed to accuse Spurs of lacking fire after they were beaten 4-0 at Anfield on Thursday.
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports claimed Accrington Stanley had given Arne Slot’s Reds a better game in a recent FA Cup tie and Jamie Redknapp accused them of going down without a fight.
Even Michael Dawson, a former Tottenham captain now among the club’s ambassadors, agreed they lacked ‘character’ and ‘desire’.
‘I get the pile-on at the moment,’ said Postecoglou. ‘It’s really easy for people to stick their boots in and question the players and all that kind of stuff. That’s not something I question. We were disappointed it didn’t go the way we wanted to, that we didn’t really perform at the levels we wanted to.
‘That’s doesn’t define this group of players by any stretch, in my eyes. We’ll go out there on Sunday and put in more of a performance that reflects where we’re at.
Ange Postecoglou came out fighting on behalf of his beleaguered Tottenham players
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports claimed Accrington Stanley had given the Reds a better game
‘I have a great deal of belief in this group of players, and what they’re going through, and how they’re dealing with it. They were disappointed. We’re all disappointed. But we’ll learn from it.’
Spurs have to pick themselves up to go to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday, but Postecoglou insists it is not a question of proving people wrong.
‘I don’t know which people I’m meant to be proving wrong,’ he said. ‘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.
‘That’s with all respect that they’re there to give an opinion. It’s not like I want to be successful here so I can go to these people and say to them ‘oh, look, you were wrong’. I don’t even know them. Why would I care where they think we’re at?
‘They’re a million miles away from us, but they’re allowed to have their opinion.
‘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 council and atone for it in the way that only really matters and that is with playing the football I know we can.’
Postecoglou defended his own position after a Carabao Cup run in which Spurs beat Manchester City and Manchester United, and become one of only three teams to beat Liverpool this season, winning the first leg of the semi final 1-0.
Postecoglou insists his side will give a much better showing of themselves this weekend
‘We’re an easy mark at the moment, I get that,’ he said. ‘Obviously making a semi-final is an absolute disaster because we didn’t play well last night. I assume not making the semi-final would have put us in a better place.
‘That’s the way people are seeing us at the moment. We’re an easy mark, like I said. When we have a disappointing night, like we did last night, gives an opportunity for everyone to go as hard as they can. That’s fine. There’s only one way to change that, that’s with us. Just getting back out there and playing the football I know we can. And getting a result on Sunday.’
