Ange Postecoglou has reiterated he will not change his style of football despite Tottenham Hotspur losing 6-3 at home to Liverpool on Sunday, their fifth defeat in their last 11 matches in all competitions.
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Postecoglou has been criticised this season for failing to adapt despite Spurs suffering an injury crisis; they were without nine first-team players for Sunday's match, including their first-choice goalkeeper and left-back, as well as both centre-backs.
Spurs' struggles at the back are clear to see. They have now conceded 13 goals in their last three home matches across all competitions, while in total in 2024 they have conceded 31 goals in home matches, their most in a single calendar year since 2007.
Furthermore, Sunday's match was just the second time they had conceded six goals in a Premier League home game, along with a 6-1 defeat against Chelsea in December 1997.
Those numbers do not put off Postecoglou.
"I have been really patient the last 18 months sitting up here answering the same questions over and over again. If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change," Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference.
"We are doing it for a reason, we are doing it because we think it will help us to be successful. If people don’t understand the circumstances we are in at the moment, the challenges we have from a squad perspective which are as obvious as you want to make them. I get the idea that people think that I should just flip a switch and change and somehow that will miraculously make us a better team. It is what it is. I’m just going to continue, stay focused on trying to build this team to be the team we want. In the interim we are going to have to accept there are going to be challenges along the way.
"What I will say is the players are not wavering in their commitment to what we are trying to do. Even today, a difficult day, I’m really proud of the fact they still tried to play a certain way knowing that is our way forward.
"The fans, I've often said, should feel they need to about what's happening. I thought they were good today, very good, given it was a difficult day for sure. But they still got support of the players which was important. And who knows, maybe some of them understand the situation we're in right now. It seems many don't. In the context of what we're trying to do, where we're at, I hope they see what we're trying to build here because I really believe it's going to be something that gives the club and fans what they want."
'I don't know what Plan B or C is'
To a question posted by BBC Match of the Day asking about Spurs' problems in defence, Postecoglou added:" If you took out Liverpool's goalkeeper, left-back and two centre-backs - well, maybe any team apart from Liverpool - they might find it tough going as well."
He was then asked by Sky Sports if he takes any solace in the fact Spurs' loss came despite them sticking to his attacking beliefs: "No, I don't like losing. Any way you lose, I don't like it. We want to be an attacking team and we want to win... We're not at that level yet."
On if he needs a Plan B, he added: "I don't know how to answer that question. I don't know what Plan B or Plan C is."
'You have to adapt at some stage'
On the flip side Postecoglou's style has helped Spurs become this season's top Premier League scorers, with 39 goals, two more than Liverpool and Chelsea.
Indeed, they are the league's great entertainers. Spurs' Premier League matches under Postecoglou have had an average of 3.6 goals scored per game (both teams combined). Among those to take charge of 50+ games in the competition, this is the highest goals per game rate for any manager.
But despite being so fun to watch, many suggest Spurs' attacking style is working to their detriment.
Former Premier League striker Michael Owen says Postecoglou should have played more cautiously against a Liverpool team who had an extra day's rest and were able to rotate players in their midweek EFL Cup tie.
"You've had 24 hours less recovery and you're playing the same team, whereas Liverpool are rotating. You're playing against better players, and you go gung ho - go toe-to-toe at your peril!"
Former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe added: "You're going to have to adapt at some stage. If you continue playing this way and conceding this many goals, you're going to go backwards."
Ange not worried by position
Spurs' form, winning only one of their last five Premier League matches, has dropped them to 11th in the table, eight points behind Nottingham Forest, the team they travel to on Boxing Day.
Postecoglou knows his team are in a difficult situation but says his team's position in the table does not mean he's doing a bad job.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
16 | +21 | 39 |
| 2 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
17 | +18 | 35 |
| 3 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
17 | +18 | 33 |
| 4 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
17 | +4 | 31 |
| 5 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
17 | +6 | 28 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
17 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 |
Man City
MCI
|
17 | +4 | 27 |
| 8 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
17 | +6 | 26 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
17 | +2 | 25 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
17 | +1 | 25 |
| 11 |
Spurs
TOT
|
17 | +14 | 23 |
| 12 |
Brentford
BRE
|
17 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
17 | -1 | 22 |
"We knew this would be our toughest period for sure," he said. "We've had shorter turnarounds than just about every opponent we've played so far, shorter rest days than every team we've played whether it's here or in Europe. And I haven't been able to rotate the team, rest players or rotate players. I have massive admiration for the efforts these players are putting in for this club at the moment. We know what a difficult situation it is and that's not going to change in the short-term. We've just got to push on.
"All I can do is navigate us through a difficult period and try and make sure we do get to a position where hopefully we have a healthier squad and some key players back where we're in a position where we can improve our position in the table. If you're saying that 10th means I'm not doing a good job and I'm maybe somehow should be uncomfortable, well that's for others to judge."
When will key players return?
Postecoglou hopes to have left-back Destiny Udogie back to full fitness from next week, while Rodrigo Bentancur has now completed a seven-match ban and is available for the trip to Nottingham Forest.
Spurs still have a couple long-term injuries, according to Postecoglou, but there are hopes the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies will return in January.
"We're at different stages of getting players back from injury," Postecoglou revealed. "We've got a couple of long term ones in [Guglielmo] Vicario and Wilson [Odobert], but the rest hopefully at some point in January they'll come back.
"That will help us in terms of just getting numbers back and dealing with the schedule, because the schedule is not going to change. We're in the Carabao Cup semi-final, we're still in Europe and the FA Cup starts. We're still in all the competitions, so it's not going to get any easier. We're going to need some of those players hopefully to come back and contribute."
On if Spurs will try to sign reinforcements in the January transfer window, Postecoglou added: "Yeah, I guess if the right players are there. Again it's about making sure it's something that's going to help us continue to build on what we’re doing."
