Ange Postecoglou told his critics they will “have to put up with me for just a little bit longer” after Tottenham Hotspur sealed a Europa League semifinal spot with a 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.
Dominic Solanke’s 43rd minute penalty, after James Maddison had been floored by Eintracht goalkeeper Kauã Santos, secured Tottenham’s win that completed a 2-1 quarterfinal aggregate victory against the Bundesliga side.
Spurs will face Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the semifinals in May.
With Spurs having lost seven of their last 12 games ahead of the Frankfurt clash, Postecoglou’s position as coach had become increasingly tenuous, with some reports suggesting he could lose his job if the team were eliminated by Eintracht.
But the former Australia coach issued a defiant riposte after taking Spurs closer to the first trophy since 2008.
“Unfortunately, you guys are going to have to put up with me for just a little bit longer,” Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference. “I’m delighted with many things. I’m super proud of the lads — away from home in a quarterfinal against a very good side. We needed to score tonight and show the quality we have and to a man, they were outstanding in such a big game. We’ve earned the right to be in the semi.
“I’m the same manager today that I was yesterday, so if anyone thinks I’m a better coach, I don’t care. It doesn’t affect what I do. Do the players believe in me and do the staff believe in me, that’s all that matters.
“The players and staff have just been outstanding. I’m the frontman, but they take responsibility through my decisions and I’ve never felt they have ever doubted what we’ve been doing.
“After a season like ours, it would be very easy for the players and staff to leave me in a pretty vulnerable place by splintering, but I’ve never felt that.”
After a season of injuries to key players, many of them long-term, Postecoglou has rarely been able to field his strongest team.
But in Deutsche Bank Park, Spurs were almost at full strength, with only captain Son Heung-Min and defender Radu Dragusin unavailable due to injury.
And Postecoglou said that the performance of his team proved what Spurs have been missing for much of this season.
“From our perspective, we’ve had a difficult season,” Postecoglou said. “There’s some reasoning behind that, but it was pretty evident tonight, with our strongest team out there, that some of the things we suffered this year we wouldn’t have.
“[Guglielmo] Vicario, [Sergio] Romero, [Micky] Van de Ven, [Rodrigo] Bentancur, Solanke — we missed all these guys this year, and others. We know we can be a team that is pretty compelling against anybody when we have everyone available.
“That’s what gave me heart all along, that when we got some players back, I really believed we could achieve.
“But we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We are in the semi and we will have a difficult opponent.”
Postecoglou, meanwhile, said that Maddison did not suffer a serious injury in the collision with Santos, which led to the England midfielder having to leave the pitch moments later.
“Maddison is fine,” Postecoglou said. “He showed unbelievable courage in that moment, he put his body on the line. He’ s sore, but he helped us progress to the semi, so I hope that makes him feel better.
“I’m surprised it wasn’t a red card. I thought it was a clear penalty, I’m not sure why we needed VAR to decide that.”
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