TEAM NEWS: Lo Celso to miss Spurs v Sheffield Utd, Ange discusses post-City reaction

Ange Postecoglou held what was probably the most anticipated press conference since his unveiling as Tottenham Hotspur manager this morning, where he discussed the aftermath of Spurs’ 2-0 home defeat to City on Tuesday. and anticipated the mandatory end-of-season game against him. Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

But first, team news. The Big Angel has confirmed just one new injury to add to what is already a sizeable list of Tottenham injured players – Giovani Lo Celso will miss the final game of the season with a knee knock he picked up sometime in match or training. Otherwise, Postecoglou will have the same group of players available at Bramall Lane as against City.

The team news wasn’t the main highlight of the press conference though. Instead, it was Postecoglou’s first opportunity to expand on his tense press conference comments about fans’ reactions after Tuesday’s defeat to Manchester City. Ange cut a frustrated and angry figure after the 2-0 defeat, calling the club’s foundations “fragile” and appearing to take issue with supporters prioritizing Arsenal’s woes over their own team’s success.

Buckle up, because Ange had a lot to say.

Ange’s comments when asked (because of course he was asked) were also telling of what we were expecting – he admitted he miscalculated in his post-match reaction and genuinely thought the fans would treat the match from City as a normal, routine home game.

“I’d like to think I haven’t changed my attitude. I was asked after the game about the atmosphere and I said I thought it was normal and I didn’t say I expected the fans to behave differently. I still agree with that and I also support my right to have a different opinion. I don’t think that’s right. It’s just the way I feel. You root for your team to win all the time, but that’s just my opinion.

“I guess I misunderstood. I’m obviously in the minority when it comes to that, so that’s a lesson. I don’t think I expressed any real disappointment in heaven or begging them to do something against their will, so I accept that.

“We have to hope that we will never be in this situation again, but if we were, then we would approach it differently. Because we didn’t take it seriously, we really thought that when we got to the stadium it would just be a normal game. And it wasn’t and people feel very strongly and I just have to accept that.”

Acknowledging the miscalculation is one thing, but Ange also pointed out what turned out to be quite a difference in this unique circumstance between some Tottenham fans and his own personal mindset. He didn’t rip off the fans, but said he just didn’t understand the mental calculus that led some fans to root against their own club.

“The supporters are there to support their club and they are doing their part. They certainly did their part for us this year. I mean the number of games we’ve won late in the stadium this year has been amazing. That’s the crowd and whoever was in the team, the fans played a small part of that.

“Now, like I said, the last game I don’t understand and I’m holding my hands up, I got it wrong. I sat here the other day and mocked the whole thing because I really didn’t think it was the case (that fans would prioritize Arsenal’s misery over Spurs winning). But if that’s how people feel… and again I can’t because I’m not a Spurs fan. They are and this is their football club. They are the guards, not me.

“All I can say is give me your opinion on what you need to be successful and to me you can’t be successful if your motivations change depending on the pageant. You have to win all the time. If you play with your brother, you must fight to the death. He’s still your brother, but you have to fight to the death to win.

“That’s what it’s been like for me my whole career. It wasn’t just a Spurs fan thing. Everyone I heard said the same thing and that I understand how they feel. Like they understand how they feel, well I don’t because I’m totally different. I just can’t think of anything worse than not going all-in for the win every time we’re out there, but that’s me.”

Ange also admitted to worrying about his own perception and whether people would question his integrity if Spurs were soundly beaten on Tuesday (calling it the “worst managerial experience” of his career), but he said he is ready to always try to win football matches. under any circumstances.

“I’ll try to put it this way, this is probably the worst experience I’ve had as a football manager in a game because once I realized I was wrong about the atmosphere it was going to be and what people. felt, I had a real anxiety in me about what would happen if Man City, who are the best team in the world and who quite easily had the top four teams at Brighton, wherever they played, scored 15 /16 goals in the last four games if we play as well as they can but they beat us 5-0.

“I got chills thinking about people questioning my integrity and the people I work with. Even watching the game again, there was a comment someone mentioned to me in the commentary that said “Tottenham are really feeling it here”. You laugh at this, but it’s 26 years of my life. If nothing else should know about me, I love this game. I am very principled. I’d hate to think, like Manchester City could have done to us, we’re on the end of a heavy defeat and people would be wondering if we’ve prepared the team. And before people say it won’t happen, we know on social media that it did. 100 percent. And I’d be up here trying to defend myself.

“Once you start defending yourself, you know it’s happening, you’re defending something. That’s why I was animated at night. I didn’t like the night because we needed the guys to … and credit to them, apart from everything else our football was outstanding on the night. That was important, not just for me and the players, but for our football, because again it would have given us insults as a football club when people measure us saying, well, I don’t think anyone will say i didn’t Man City got that win last night. And it could have gone a very different way without anything changing for us, just because Man City is Man City.”

This is almost exactly what I expected Postecoglou to say. He expresses anxiety about how he would look in the circumstance that Spurs were pumped – would people question his commitment? — and then reacted to the incredibly unique situation the Spurs were in for this game, and the fact that fans might not have the same hyper-fixation on winning that he does.

It is understandable. Football managers are not football fans. Fandom is shaky, malleable, complicated, and irrational, with each fan approaching their fandom differently and with different priorities that don’t always make rational sense. Managers and players just want to win every game and overcome every challenge that comes their way. When situations like this happen, it puts the fans and the club at odds. Of course it does!

Postecoglou has drawn a lot of criticism from the media and fans in general for his comments and to be sure the criticism is a valid point of view. People are free to be upset about what he said in the context in which he said it, but I think understanding his mindset as a head coach makes his reaction more understandable.

Ange also clarified his comments about the “foundation” of clubs. At the time the comments were made, it was interpreted as a dig at the fans for not sharing Postecoglou’s views on winning in this circumstance. Postecoglou tried to clarify his comments, saying instead that he was upset because the team had lost several recent matches and appeared to be moving away from the tactical principles he had tried to instill throughout the season.

“Part of the problem for us this year was what we talked about after the game, in more specific terms, we had a real lack of discipline around our football. At the beginning of the year it was mainly red and yellow cards which cost us very badly, towards the end of the year there was a real lack of discipline in following our footballing principles. There have been too many times when we have failed in this and paid a price.

“The goal they scored was a little snap with Rodrigo passing the ball and then because of that he wanted to handle it but he’s already on the yellow card so he can’t bring the guy down. So we pay for two ill-disciplined sides against a team that is very disciplined and then they go and do what they do. They have their moment and score their goal.

“I thought as painful as it was, it was a good time for us to really crystallize after the game. Again, obviously I wasn’t very happy after the game because we had lost again, but when you asked me about foundations, I couldn’t sit there and be disingenuous and say our foundations were strong when we lost five out of six. games, big games.

…

“As I said, when I look at these five defeats, they’ve all had those elements of us playing incredible football but some huge lapses in focus and discipline. So this tells me that going back to my original point, the foundations are not strong yet and that is what I need to focus on. Before I move on, I need to integrate him into the group and us as a club. So, yes, that is the challenge.”

Ange later also addressed the viral video from the match where he confronts a Spurs fan who was sitting behind the Tottenham bench. Contrary to initial reporting surrounding the incident, the fan did not yell at Ange to throw the game, but was angry after the Spurs conceded and directed abusive language at the Spurs’ coaching staff. Ange wasn’t having it, though he understands why the fan was upset.

“I think if you’re going to sit behind the bench, especially in a home game, you have to be respectful because you’re within reach of the most important people. He wasn’t happy that I got a goal so I went back to find out what his problem was and he used language he shouldn’t and was abusive and if I hear that I don’t care who it is I will do what. deal with it

“But he is more than welcome to come back next time and take his place and express his views. If he swears, if he is abusive, he will get the same treatment from me again. But at the same time you also feel, “Well mate, I’m busy on opposition pitches every week, give me a break on my home pitch”.

This has been an exhausting week. Not just for bloggers and journalists and fans who read about Tottenham Hotspur, but also for Ange Postecoglou and the team. It’s a major turning point at the end of a long season that was significantly disrupted by injuries and certainly had its ups and downs. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for this particular point – Tottenham can end the season on a high note with a win over a relegated (and historically poor) Sheffield United and clinch fifth place along with Europa League competition next season . Along with that hope is the sincere hope that everyone can put this matchup and the once-in-a-generation scheduling circumstances that made it so significant in the rearview mirror.