Tottenham were offered no quarter after they squandered their 1-0 advantage over Liverpool last night in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
After the game, as is custom, criticism ensued, but the coach from Down Under remains as defiant as ever.
Ange Postecoglou dismisses criticism from Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher
After his side’s exit from the Carabao Cup, Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has come out in defiance against the outside criticism.
In particular, Spurs received flak from former player Jamie Redknapp and his namesake pundit Jamie Carragher after the defeat at Anfield.
When asked about whether he’d use the criticism to uplift his players going forward, the 59-year-old said:
“No, because I don’t know which people I’m meant to be proving wrong.
“I said last night, it’s irrelevant to me what other people’s opinions are. People are on the TV and the radio and in the newspapers to give opinions and I respect that. They’re allowed to do that but I don’t have any obligation to listen to any of it.
“To get fuelled by the comments of people I’ve never even met, I don’t know how you live your life, but I certainly don’t live my life that way. That’s with all respect that they’re there to give an opinion.
“It’s not like I want to be successful here so I can go to these people and say to them: ‘oh, look, you were wrong’. I don’t even know them. Why would I care where they think we’re at? They’re a million miles away from us, but they’re allowed to have their opinion.
“We’re an easy mark at the moment and, look, after last night, there are times you’ve just got to take it, keep your counsel and atone for it in the way that only really matters and that is with playing the football I know we can.”
Postecoglou on outside criticism, as quoted by The Standard.
Up next for the Lilywhites is the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa this Sunday before they face fellow strugglers Man United in the Premier League a week later.
TTLB Opinion
Postecoglou is absolutely right. People on the outside will always have something to say, and while it does not exist in a vaccuum it is the manager’s responsibility to make sure no one in his team actively engages with the outside noise.
There are some legitimate arguments made regarding Postecoglou’s football over the past months, but it is not incumbent upon the commentators to tell a team what to do, nor is it a mandate on the manager’s part to pay any heed whatsoever.
At some point, Postecoglou and Spurs will part ways, but it cannot be denied that some core tenets of his philosophy are spot-on and to be encouraged.
More Tottenham News:
- Did Postecoglou just confirm €55m Tottenham transfer?
- Chelsea loanee has already decided against joining Tottenham next summer – a report
- Chelsea made a late attempt to hijack deadline day transfer from under Tottenham’s noses
