Micky van de Ven has said Tottenham Hotspur players want to win the Europa League for under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian manager has faced growing calls to be sacked after a disappointing season that sees Spurs languish in 15th place in the Premier League. Their 4-2 loss to Wolves on the weekend was their 17th defeat of the season.
The Europa League has emerged as Spurs’ best hope to salvage their season. And for Postecoglou, his job. Leading Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years would go a long way towards keeping him in the dugout.
For that to happen, Spurs need to overcome Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinal. They visit the German side on Thursday with the tie level at 1-1.
“It hasn’t been our best season. The fans want us to play better, and do better in the games we lost, but when the whole team is strong we can achieve some beautiful things — hopefully we can show that to everyone who doubts us, ” Van de Ven told a news conference on Wednesday.
“We have trust in the gaffer and the way he wants us to play. We want to win for him, but also for us, the club and the fans.
“We want to achieve something this season and this is the best way to do it.”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou has said he hasn’t paid much heed to the chatter around his future, and remains focused on Thursday’s game.
“I don’t define my career by what people think about me. I don’t think that way. I’m not a better manager if we win this game, and I’m not a worse one if we lose it. There’s no burden on me.
“All I’m thinking is we’ve got a great opportunity, and I’m not going to let that slip by without fighting tooth and nail, irrespective of my position.”
Spurs will be without captain Son Heung-Min in the second leg, with Postecoglou confirming that the forward hasn’t travelled with the squad due to a foot injury.
“Sonny didn’t travel. He has been battling with a foot problem. It’s got too painful so we made a decision to leave him at home,” Postecoglou said.
“Sonny tried really hard. We left him out at the weekend to try to allow him time to recover but he couldn’t make it. We’ve had these challenges like this all year, this is just another.”
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