Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou on looking onto the FA Cup clash with Aston Villa
07/02/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
07/02/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00No, I mean, look, I don't sort of, you know,
00:29I don't want to engage the tone of what I say.
00:32I think the similarities were there in that, again,
00:34we just allowed, you know, a very good team to take control of the game.
00:38And what was, you know, like I said, a big night for the club.
00:43A big night for our supporters and a big opportunity for us.
00:48Yeah, we just didn't really handle it really well.
00:52We went out there sort of way too conservative in our approach.
00:56And, you know, we kind of paid a price for that.
01:00I think we stayed in the game for, you know,
01:04it was only 1-0 at half-time, so we're still well in the tie.
01:07But I never sensed like we really, you know,
01:12had that sort of intent to go out there and try and win the game.
01:17It was almost like trying to hold on and that just doesn't work.
01:23Is it a big game for you to count?
01:25Some fans feel like it's six inches on this game.
01:29Is that how you see it?
01:32No, because then we've got other games afterwards.
01:34Look, I...
01:39Once again, I just don't think about what I do in those senses.
01:46You know, people will always try and sort of create a scenario
01:52where there's some sort of dramatic event.
01:54And the reality is, say we win Sunday,
02:01what does that mean?
02:02We can go in against Manchester United the following week
02:04and just say, well, you know, we've won the biggest game of the year,
02:07so that's okay.
02:08It doesn't just...
02:09I don't believe that.
02:10But I get why people sort of talk in that manner,
02:11because it means that if we're not successful,
02:13okay, well, geez, what does that mean?
02:15What does that mean for the manager?
02:16What does that mean for the team?
02:17What does that mean for the season?
02:18So I get that people want the drama around that.
02:21The reality is that we've got an important game Sunday
02:24that we want to win to stay in the competition.
02:27And then we've got an important game the following Sunday.
02:29So nothing is season-defining until you get to the end.
02:34Just finally, we've seen the charts, I think.
02:38We talk about the lack of intensity,
02:41and quite a few of the critics talk to the lack of fight
02:46or lack of fire or whatever you want to be last night.
02:51Is that a natural part of the same players running on that team?
02:54Is that what it is, or is it different?
02:58Look, I think it's a combination of both.
03:03You know, one is just that mindset to go out there
03:06and sort of play without fear and take on the challenge
03:10rather than sort of go out there and try and survive.
03:12But, you know, at the same time, you know, the players,
03:17we're asking a lot of this group of players
03:20who are continually backing up, and, you know,
03:23there's a physical but also a mental toll that that takes.
03:27So, you know, my job is to try and sort of eliminate that
03:32from their thought process.
03:37The sort of bizarre thing about it is we ended up doing
03:42more running last night than the opposition.
03:45So it's not like by playing that way you conserve energy.
03:49Sometimes in your mind you think, you know,
03:51if we go there and press really aggressively
03:53and really play at a high tempo, high intensity,
03:55will we be able to last?
03:57Now, like I said, we've outrun the opposition,
04:00but that's because we were chasing the ball most of the night
04:02and we were so passive in our approach.
04:04So it's about trying to sort of educate the players on,
04:10you know, even when we are sort of asking a lot of them
04:14from a physical perspective,
04:17it's much more efficient to take on the opposition
04:21and to kind of, like I said, try and survive out there
04:24or try and sort of save what energies you have
04:27for important moments.
04:30And I think we've seen, without pretending,
04:32I know Deitra's somewhere, you're playing deeper on the bench,
04:37you're not pressing the other half like you want to do,
04:40but again, is that something that's just
04:43the natural consequence of having a different back four,
04:46or having a different...
04:48Yeah, some of it is.
04:50It's a combination of these things.
04:52It doesn't help when we're constantly changing.
04:54But I said, I think last night,
04:58you know, I think we kind of...
05:01And look, I always think with these things,
05:04well, OK, well, it's easy for me to sit here
05:06and sort of say we did this and we didn't do that,
05:08but then you're kind of self-reflective
05:10and say, well, what sort of information
05:12did I give the players before the game?
05:14How do I prepare them for what's ahead?
05:16And maybe there was some underlying messages
05:20that they got around sort of, you know,
05:22we're 1-0 up, we've got to limit Liverpool,
05:24we've got to be strong defensively
05:26because they're such a good side.
05:28But I think that just sort of feeds into
05:30kind of the game they want to play.
05:32Now, that wasn't the way I sort of framed it,
05:34but you're kind of going, well,
05:36why did the players sort of take that message out there
05:39that somehow us holding out Liverpool
05:42was going to be the way to do it last night?
05:44It's certainly not the way I thought
05:46we would have a chance of success.
05:48Like I said, we could have gone out there
05:50and pressed them and still lost the game.
05:52That's a very real possibility
05:54because they're a very good side
05:56and they're in a good moment.
05:58But at least if we did that, we'd say,
06:00OK, well, we tried to do what we're good at
06:04and it didn't work.
06:06We can learn from that.
06:08I don't think there's a lot we can learn
06:10about football.
06:12There's a lot we can learn
06:14about how we handle the situation.
06:20Yeah, of course, why wouldn't they?
06:22There's no reason why
06:24you should go out there
06:26not believing you can't win any game of football
06:28but certainly against a team that we beat
06:30a month ago.
06:32So, yeah, of course, they believed it.
06:40How big is the gap
06:42between Tottenham and Liverpool?
06:44That's hard to say
06:46because that's kind of...
06:48Like I said, will that ever happen?
06:50Is there a moment in time
06:52where you can measure that?
06:54Because it's not just getting the players back.
06:56It's also getting the players back
06:58and getting them to a level
07:00where they're going to come back
07:02after two or three months out
07:04and hit the levels they want.
07:06But at least we then have an opportunity
07:08against teams from a...
07:10Even in terms of
07:12changing the game mid-course.
07:14Substitutions, we're kind of...
07:16At the moment, we're really hampered
07:18in what we can do because
07:20we've got youngsters
07:22on the bench that I don't really want to expose
07:24to that kind of environment.
07:26So I don't think it's about
07:28us measuring ourselves against Liverpool.
07:30It's about us
07:32assessing
07:34where we're at when we've got
07:36a more
07:38robust
07:40squad that can deal
07:42with what we're dealing with.
07:44Do you have to believe in the character
07:46of the players?
07:48Absolutely, yeah.
07:50Again, like I said, it's really easy.
07:52People can sit back
07:54in the comfort of their
07:56surroundings
07:58and say, oh look, they're not trying.
08:00Or they lack fight
08:02or they lack character.
08:04That's not what I see.
08:08As I keep saying,
08:10maybe we'd have been
08:12better off if we weren't in the semi-final
08:14and we had a week off and preparing for
08:16an FA Cup on Sunday and people would look
08:18at us differently.
08:20But the fact is, we got to a semi-final.
08:22These players worked really hard to get there.
08:24We didn't have an easy road to get there.
08:26We had a disappointing night last night
08:28for sure.
08:30But
08:32I don't question the character
08:34or the determination
08:36of the players
08:38to continue on
08:40and try and bring success.
08:42A lot of clubs
08:44don't win trophies,
08:46only a handful of teams have won the domestic
08:48Cups in this country in the last decade.
08:50Why do you think experts do seem to get
08:52so much stick?
08:54I can't talk about it.
08:56At the moment, we're an easy mark
08:58because there's this kind of inconsistency
09:00and everyone's
09:02sort of saying that
09:04I'm making excuses about injuries
09:06and all that kind of stuff.
09:08It's kind of easy with a club obviously
09:10not having won a trophy in a long
09:12time for
09:14people
09:16to pile on at the moment.
09:18Is that the case with a lot of clubs?
09:20Yeah, it is.
09:22I don't know.
09:24That's something for you guys to reflect more than me.
09:26I've only been here a short time.
09:28It does feel like
09:32there's
09:34very
09:36much an eagerness to
09:38kind of
09:40you know
09:42take the club down
09:44for one reason or another when the opportunity
09:46exists now. At the moment, we're giving them that opportunity
09:48after last night
09:50with our league form.
09:53As I said before,
09:55I think that
09:57can't chart our way forward.
09:59That can't be our motivation
10:01trying to
10:03change people's opinions
10:05who obviously have formed these opinions
10:07over a long time.
10:13Again, I think
10:15that would fall in the trap of me
10:17reacting to this stuff.
10:19It is what it is.
10:25I think after
10:27a night like last night,
10:29whatever comes our way,
10:31whether it's to me or to the club,
10:33we've just got to
10:35keep our counsel,
10:37keep our understanding.
10:39It's an easy moment
10:41for people to sort of drag you down
10:43and deal with it in the best possible way
10:45and that is to
10:47do our job,
10:49focus on the next challenge
10:51and
10:53find a way to get to where we want to be.
11:09Personally,
11:11that doesn't really
11:13enter
11:15my headspace.
11:19I get that
11:21that's obviously
11:23a massive topic of discussion
11:25because when things aren't going well
11:27you kind of look at the person who's
11:29largely responsible for that and that's me.
11:31It is what it is.
11:33You've just got to get on.
11:35It doesn't change the decisions I make
11:37or how I feel
11:39or how I work
11:41today or how determined I am to
11:43continue on this path.
11:49Right now the focus is on
11:51getting this group of players recovered
11:53for Sunday, big game Sunday
11:55and hopefully
11:57get a positive result.
11:59As I said, over the next couple of weeks we'll get some
12:01significant players back which I think
12:03will help the playing group.
12:05No, no.
12:07Micky probably, like I said,
12:09it's going to be a bit of a slow burn.
12:11But definitely close to guys like
12:13Vicario, Destiny, Wilson Notenberg,
12:15Matters, Brendan
12:17at a stretch.
12:19They should all be back in the next sort of
12:23midweek next week
12:25in terms of training or the week after.
12:27But over the next two weeks they should all be available.
12:41Is there a fear that the fans
12:43or a portion of fans
12:45will just simply stop listening to this?
12:47We've had a manager say
12:49that, you know, I'm behind,
12:51I don't hide behind injuries
12:55Is that part of this
12:57narrative that
12:59you've been sucked into
13:01and difficult to get out of?
13:07I don't know how it's a
13:09narrative when you're just stating facts.
13:11If people
13:15don't see the situation we're in
13:17as something significant, well there's nothing I can say to that.
13:19If they look at that list of players and say
13:21well that shouldn't make a difference,
13:23I really don't know how to answer that.
13:27I get that people
13:29it kind of does
13:33maybe the senses get dulled
13:35and people get bored.
13:37I say everyone wants a bit of drama
13:39and that's not drama
13:41that's just stating facts
13:43that we've
13:45been
13:47missing some really
13:49key players for a very long time
13:53and we've had to deal with that.
13:57Whether people see that as
13:59significant or not
14:01you know
14:03again
14:05for me
14:07if people think I'm here trying to
14:09create a story
14:11out of nothing
14:13I don't know what to say to that.
14:15And that's for other
14:17managers mate, he's had his five minutes
14:19so let's move on.
14:23He's had his five minutes mate, that's good enough for me.
14:25You also mentioned the semi-final
14:27the semi-final was tricky I think
14:29that you don't get a
14:31stretch in that league
14:33but it's
14:35the disappointment
14:37of moving in
14:39wipes away the achievement
14:41of getting there, is that what you're saying?
14:43Yeah, especially for the players
14:45and I understand that
14:47because like I said it was really disappointing
14:49it's not only disappointing over both leagues
14:51I think we played really well in the first league
14:53and gave ourselves a chance last night
14:55but
14:57we were one of only
14:59four teams left so
15:01you know
15:03it would have been better if we got knocked out in the first round
15:05and we didn't play last night and had the night off
15:07and prepared for Villa on Sunday
15:09and maybe the noise around us wouldn't be
15:11but I'd much rather be where we were last night
15:13as painful as it was
15:15giving ourselves a chance
15:17and hopefully next time we
15:19get into that position
15:21we'll handle it better.
15:25And the injuries during this time
15:27in the last couple of months
15:29it obviously impacts your enjoyment
15:31in the job, it makes it less enjoyable because you've got fewer options
15:33can it get to a point
15:35or does it get to a point
15:37where it actually becomes unenjoyable
15:39to your role as manager
15:41with this unprecedented number of injuries
15:43can it get to a point where it's actually
15:45just not that enjoyable?
15:47No, no, it never gets that because
15:49the responsibility I have is not around
15:51me enjoying anything
15:53my responsibility lies in
15:55trying to steer
15:57the club and guide the club
15:59through this
16:01process to get us to where we want to
16:03so
16:05it doesn't
16:07dampen my
16:09determination or
16:11my will or desire
16:13to get us to where we want to
16:15it's a challenge but again
16:17there's always challenges in football
16:19there's always challenges in management
16:21it's a challenge
16:23but it's not like I
16:25woke up this morning
16:27and didn't sleep
16:29it's not like I got up this morning
16:31and didn't want to come in
16:33came in early
16:35and I want to try and help everyone
16:37players, staff to make sure
16:39we get ready for a big game on Sunday
16:41Is it extra fuel
16:43having those
16:45injuries?
16:47It's not about
16:50fuel, again I try and take out
16:52because again
16:54it's not about me
16:56it's not about what I feel
16:58and what motivates me
17:00it's about the players, they're the ones that have to go out
17:02there and they're the ones that are
17:04at the moment
17:06going through this really
17:08tough period
17:10of
17:12asking a lot
17:14of a small group
17:16I don't want them to
17:18sense that somehow
17:20how I feel or my emotions
17:22are a priority
17:24they're not, the priority
17:26is the players
17:28how can I and the rest of the staff support the players
17:30guide them
17:32give them direction
17:34and feedback so that we can
17:36get through
17:38this and come out stronger
17:48Thank you