Ange Postecoglou berated people who “turn gold into crap” when speaking of Tottenham Hotspur, suggesting that there is an “alternate universe where everything Tottenham does is wrong” ahead of the club’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Spurs had been leading Southampton 2-1 in stoppage time on the weekend, with Brennan Johnson having scored both of the Lilywhites’ goals as they looked set to condemn the Saints to an immediate return to the EFL Championship.
Johnson won a penalty, but after a discussion, Mathys Tel stepped up to despatch it – sparking criticism online with the Wales international denied a first hat-trick in the Premier League.
Postecoglou insisted he was “delighted” with the situation, suggesting that the social media discourse “is just literally turning gold into crap when it’s Tottenham.”
“If we’re 2-1 up [against Eintracht Frankfurt] tomorrow night and get a penalty in the last minute,” he continued, “I want the best penalty taker to take it. The one slight against this club is apparently it hasn’t been a winner. The winner’s mentality in the last minute of the game is to score a goal.”
“We scored a goal – and yet somehow, in this alternate universe where everything Tottenham does it wrong, that’s come out as a negative. Be that as it may. From my point of view, I was delighted because as I said, if that’s tomorrow night and we get a penalty in the last minute and get a third goal which could be really decisive, I’m really pleased with the way the players handled it.”
The Australian emphasised the need for fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to get behind the players on Thursday as they take on an Eintracht Frankfurt side that sits third in the Bundesliga, insisting that “at home, the atmosphere makes a big impact.”
“A lot of teams who have success in European football is on the back of a really strong home atmosphere. We hope it’s the same tomorrow night for us. We think we can get the crowd going tomorrow night, and we’ve had nights like that this year – European nights have been good, [and] the semi-final of the Carabao Cup first leg against Liverpool was really good.”
Spurs host Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday 10 April, with kick-off in the UEFA Europa League at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST].