Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou said he has no regrets saying he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club as the North London side looks to overturn a first leg deficit at home against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.
With Spurs out of both domestic cups and 36 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, the Europa League is the last chance at silverware for a club who have not won a trophy since 2008.
Postecoglou made the claim having won trophies in his second seasons with Australia’s Brisbane Roar, Japan’s Yokohama F Marinos and Scotland’s Celtic.
But his Spurs side must first beat Alkmaar who lead 1-0 after the first leg in the Netherlands.
“No, no extra pressure. We were obviously disappointed with our performance in the first leg. The important thing is we didn’t make the tie impossible for us to get back into, it’s still very tight,” Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday.
“They’ve got the goal advantage but playing at home, if we can play with the intensity and tempo that we did in the weekend [2-2 comeback draw with Bournemouth] then I think we will have an opportunity to progress.
“Should we progress we will have another big challenge in the next round. The focus is to put in a strong performance tomorrow night.”
When asked if he had regrets making such a bold statement about winning trophies, Postecoglou said he was simply stating facts.
“I wasn’t making anything up, I answered a question. People have used it for their own purposes suggesting I was making a bold claim,” he said.
“If that doesn’t happen, then I can’t say that any more next year, can I?”
Having endured a rollercoaster run in the last three months due to an injury crisis, Postecoglou received a boost with defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero available to start together for the first time since early December.
While Romero played an hour against Bournemouth, Van de Ven came on for the last 30 minutes.
“They got through the game well,” Postecoglou said. “Romero, no issues. It was great to get Micky out there. They’re both available.”
Postecoglou also said he is relying on the club’s “leadership group,” including goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, to guide Spurs into the quarterfinals.
“You want your experienced players to perform in these kinds of games for sure. We relied a lot on our younger players who have progressed really well,” Postecoglou said.
“The likes of Romero, Vicario, [James] Maddison and Sonny [Son Heung-Min] out there — they are our four leaders. Having all four out there will be beneficial.”
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