Ange Postecoglou admits he's 'ready to explode' at his Tottenham players this week
Tottenham's players can expect a fiery team talk from Ange Postecoglou when they return from international duty this week, with anger from their last defeat still lingering
by Felix Keith · The MirrorAnge Postecoglou says he will “explode” at his Tottenham players once they arrive back at the club following international duty.
Spurs face West Ham in Saturday’s early kick-off needing a result following a staggering collapse against Brighton before the break. Postecoglou’s side had a 2-0 lead at the Amex Stadium on October 6, only to lose 3-2 in a dramatic turnaround.
The Australian manager launched into a passionate post-match rant in which he slammed his complacent players for throwing away three points. He branded it the 'worst defeat' of his reign at Tottenham, insisting the second-half performance was 'unacceptable'.
However, Postecoglou isn’t done with venting yet, having been left to his own devices to stew on things while many of his players have been away with their national teams. "You never know if it (the international break) is good or bad. Maybe for the players it was good, but I don't like sitting on a loss," Postecoglou told Mark Schwarzer for Optus Sport.
"There can be a tendency to over-analyse things. It wasn't a good one. The first half was unbelievable, but I didn't like the second half and what we looked like. It wasn't the loss, it was the manner I wasn't comfortable with. I've been sitting on it for 10 days, I'm ready to explode once they get back in the building and that will be my therapy."
The defeat left Spurs ninth in the Premier League on 14 points from seven matches. They will face a West Ham side full of confidence following their 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich before the break, which was their first win at the London Stadium.
Postecoglou is under pressure, with Spurs having won just three matches in the league so far this season, but he says he won’t change his approach. "What everyone wants me to do is what everyone else does. I'm not going to do that," he said.
"The reason I'm here now is because I didn't do what everyone else does. I wouldn't do anything differently because I've always tried to make decisions that I believe are going to stay true to what we're trying to create. What I do know is that people forget the starting point. It becomes really blurred. I don't forget the starting point. That's how I measure progress."
Postecoglou previously worked for Celtic, Australia and Yokohama Marinos and was asked whether Spurs was the most difficult job he’s had. "This club has its own unique challenges for sure. Are they more difficult than others? I don't know,” he said. "When I was at Celtic I was expected to win. If you lose one game it's a major problem and not many can cope with that.
"It's just a different challenge for sure. I get why people would say it's the level and the scrutiny is the reason why you're not having success – I don't believe that. I believe we will have success and there's nothing here that makes me think that is insurmountable."
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