By admin 
Ange Postecoglou is not interested in placating angry Tottenham fans and insisted his full focus is on improving his side’s wretched form.
Postecoglou came under fire from the away end during last night’s 1-0 defeat at Chelsea with Tottenham mired in 14th place in the Premier League having not won in four games. If they finish below 11th it would represent their worst season since the 2003-04 campaign.
Spurs take on rock-bottom Southampton on Sunday and Postecoglou insisted he was more interested in preparing his players for the visit of the Saints than he was trying to inspire a disillusioned fanbase.
He said: “People want me to say something that will change the mood of the fans but I have never done that.
“My job is the performance of the team. I get that they are frustrated and angry. But at the same time, I understand the criticism towards me, but if anyone looked at the players and said they aren’t trying – then I am sorry they are not watching the right game.”
Ange not affected by abuse
Asked if he was affected personally by the abuse, the Australian added: “No, I am fine. I don’t get affected by that. I will continue fighting my whole career.”
Tottenham fans chanted “you don’t know what you’re doing” after Postecoglou replaced Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert with Pape Sarr and Brennan Johnson after 64 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Not long after, Sarr rifled a 20-yard shot past Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal, prompting Postecoglou to cup his ears to the Spurs fans, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR.
New footage of Ange’s cupped ear gesture to the Spurs away fans
— The Spurs Web (@thespursweb) April 4, 2025
Speaking last night to Sky Sports, Postecoglou denied he was having a pop at his detractors and he repeated that again this morning.
He added: ”I made a mistake last night in that I celebrated a goal. Since VAR came in here, there were four or five incidents in Scotland and I thought I am not really going to celebrate goals.
“I just felt we needed something, and it was a cracking goal from Pape [Sarr]. I heard the fans weren’t happy and I felt the need to celebrate and it could be a real momentum shift to finish strong. My mistake was celebrating a goal, VAR defeated me, I won’t be doing that again.”
It took over three minutes for the VAR to rule Sarr had fouled Moises Caicedo in the build-up to the goal and Postecoglou repeated his claim that it was killing the game.
“Maybe I was influenced by England and the old First Division,” he said. “I loved the frenetic pace. I could have watched other divisions but it was always England, end-to-end stuff, speed and tempo, I loved that.
“I’ve tried to design a game plan that has tempo and energy because I feel if you want people in there, you want them off their seat. There was 12 minutes of extra time yesterday that’s not why VAR was brought in.
“I am the lone voice. I don’t hear anyone else saying it. That’s why I am sat here and saying maybe I am disconnected. When I retire, I will probably watch less football and find another hobby.”
🗣️ “I made a mistake in celebrating a goal, there’s no point now because of VAR”
Ange Postecoglou reflects on Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 loss to Chelsea 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/34Q76VJmTw
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 4, 2025
Solace could come against sorry Saints
If Postecoglou had to handpick an opponent to face on Sunday it’s likely he would plump for Southampton, who have mustered just 10 points in a dismal season.
Micky van de Ven ought to be fit despite coming off against Chelsea.
Postecoglou said: ”Micky is alright. He cramped up [against Chelsea]. Obviously, he hadn’t played 90 minutes for a while, the positive thing is that he felt really good apart from the cramping up. It was a tough game defensively, we had to work hard.
“Everyone else… nothing significant coming out of the game.”
Postecoglou denied he would rotate his squad too much despite next Thursday’s crunch Europa League quarter-final, first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt looming large.
“To a certain extent, we are a bit beyond that now,” he said. “The group is in a good place.
“We need to gain some momentum. We will make a couple of changes but not too many.”