After losing 2-0 to Manchester City on Tuesday night, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou said that the foundations of what he is trying to build had been revealed to be “fairly fragile” — but not necessarily by events on the pitch.
It was a strange night, with tempers fraying and many Spurs supporters actively wanting the team to lose and dent the title hopes of local rivals Arsenal.
Postecoglou was clearly furious after the game but would not elaborate on what he meant by those “fairly fragile” comments and what it was that had irritated him.
Here, The Athletic explains what riled Postecoglou in the lead-up to the game, and the possible implications of what he said.
When fans want to lose: ‘Every time we attacked, we booed our own players’
What was it that upset Postecoglou?
It was clear from Postecoglou’s comments on Tuesday night that the previous 48 hours had been his most challenging spell at Spurs. He did not want to be drawn on specifics but the head coach said those two days had “revealed a fair bit” to him about issues outside and inside the club. Almost all of this comes back to the theme of the last few days about whether Spurs should want to beat Manchester City on Tuesday if it meant Arsenal winning the league.
Normally, Postecoglou is an expert at shutting out the external noise and focusing on his job but this time, the narrative became unavoidable, even inside the club.
He made his views clear in Monday’s press conference that he has no interest in “bragging rights”. After the game, he could not hide his frustration at the subdued atmosphere. He was even caught on camera angrily shouting at a fan behind the dugout whom he had heard using abusive language. Contrary to suggestions that the fan in question had told Postecoglou to throw the game, one witness told The Athletic the fan had asked Postecoglou why he had not shown the same animation earlier in the season rather than just against City. The fan was then ejected from the stadium.
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