16 May 2024 , 09:24
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Ange Postecoglou's prickly attitude after Tottenham's defeat to Manchester City tracks back to staff members joking they should play a youth team against the reigning champions.
City travelled to Spurs on Tuesday knowing a win would take them above Arsenal in the Premier League table. Bit a draw or a defeat would have ensured the Gunners held onto top spot heading into the final day of the season.
The build-up to the game was dominated by talk of how seriously Spurs would take the game, given a win for them would aid their bitter rivals. Some Spurs fans were actively hoping for a defeat.
And it appears that attitude even spread to people working for the club, much to Postecoglou's frustration. The Australian had insisted before the game that his side would be going out to win.
But that was not a frame of mind shared by everyone at the club though. Postecoglou was 'incensed' by the pre-match attitude of the supporters who wanted their team to lose.
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He also blew a gasket when one member of the support staff joked that Spurs should send out a youth team to face City, though that report has been denied by the club. But, as, first reported by The Athletic, 'most aggravating' to the manager was the sense that some staff had been relaxed about losing.
The Spurs fans among the support team had more than one eye on the title race. And while he majority had been approaching the clash with City as if it were a normal game, the prospect of losing had been a recurring theme of jokes over the past week.
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Spurs fell to defeat to City on Tuesday to end their hopes of finishing in the top four (Getty Images)Postecoglou’s anger burst into the open after the defeat as he delivered a scathing review of the challenges facing his club. The Australian had earned plaudits for his work this season, but has now insisted there is a long way to go.
"The last 48 hours have revealed that the foundations are fairly fragile. That's what I feel. The last 48 hours have revealed a fair bit to me. But it just means I've got to go back to the drawing board with some things," he fumed.
"It’s outside, inside, everywhere. It's been an interesting exercise. It's my observations, mate. I'm not going to tell you because it's for me. I'm the one that's got to do it so you can make your own assessment over what's happpened.
"I understand I have probably misread the situation to what I think is important and in your endeavour to become a winning team. But it's okay, it's why I'm here. I want to be successful at this football club, it's why I was brought in.
"So what other people, how they want to feel, and what their priorities are, are of zero interest to me. I know what's important to build a winning team, that's what I need to concentrate on. It is what it is, mate. I can't dictate what people do.
"They are allowed to express themselves in any way they want. But yeah, when we've got late winners in games it's because the crowd has helped us. I already know what I want to do, it's just I've got to make some adjustments to how I do it."
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