Postecoglou has no regrets over second-season trophy comments

Ange Postecoglou says he has no regrets about saying he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club, as Tottenham look to overturn a Europa League deficit.

Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat to AZ in Alkmaar last Thursday thanks to Lucas Bergvall’s first-half own goal but rode their luck at times despite the low scoreline.

Spurs are out of both the EFL Cup and FA Cup and sit 13th in the Premier League after struggling in recent months in the league, leaving the Europa League as their last opportunity for silverware this campaign.

They last lifted a trophy in 2008 – the EFL Cup – and Postecoglou made the claim in September that he wins silverware in his second seasons, having done so with Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic.

Asked if he regretted the bold claim, he noted that he had simply stated a fact, not adding extra pressure onto his players.

“No, no extra pressure,” Postecoglou insisted. “There’s always pressure there and, yes, it’s a big game, but if we’re successful [on Thursday] night, it’ll be the same in the next round.

“When you’re in the later stages of European or any cup competition, you kind of know every game is meaningful because it either means the end of the road or you progress, so we understand that we need to embrace that.

“My view has always been when you’re asked a question, you answer it. I wasn’t making anything up.

“People have sort of used it for their own purposes in suggesting I was making a bold claim, but I wasn’t. I was stating a fact. If that doesn’t happen this year, then I cannot say that anymore if I’m asked next year, can I?

“Maybe we will defy the odds, and I do win something. You know what people will say? ‘Isn’t it great that he made such a bold claim’. People just use it the way they want to depending on the circumstances.

“Whether I win something in my second year here, time will tell.”

Spurs have won four of their last five home European matches against Dutch teams, losing the other against Ajax 1-0 in the Champions League in April 2019.

They have also scored in each of their last 29 home matches in the Europa League, the longest run of scoring on home soil in the competition’s history. The last time they did not score at home was in a 0-0 draw with Lazio in September 2012.

That bodes well for Spurs, who need at least one goal to keep the tie alive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.

One reporter suggested this match could be a “win or bust” in terms of Postecoglou’s future at the club, leaving the Australian unimpressed.

“There aren’t many professions in the world where you have to come in and answer questions like that is there?” Postecoglou said. “I’m going to be polite and say we’re focussed on winning the game [on Thursday].

“We need to put in better performance than we did last Thursday. Obviously, that was not anywhere near the standard we want.

“We did some good things at the weekend, and some not so good things, but we feel that if we play with the intensity and tempo that we played with on the week, then we’ll give ourselves a good chance to progress.”