Ange Postecoglou: I won’t let Tottenham’s Premier League campaign peter out

Ange Postecoglou will not let Tottenham’s Premier League campaign peter out despite the Europa League being the club’s last realistic opportunity to salvage an injury-ravaged season.

Spurs experienced 72 hours of cup disappointment last week with their Carabao Cup participation ended in the semi-final stage by Liverpool before a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa consigned them to an FA Cup fourth-round exit.

Tottenham were without 11 players for the Villa loss, but Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson could return for Sunday’s visit of Manchester United.

Postecoglou has faced constant speculation over his position during a difficult winter period where a threadbare squad has struggled, but feels this rare clear midweek has offered them a reset opportunity, especially before their Europa League campaign resumes in the last-16 stage on March 6.

“You can’t ignore what’s happened and we’re still carrying remnants of that, the disappointment of the league season, the disappointment of going out in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, the disappointment of Sunday,” Postecoglou said.

“You can’t just extinguish that. Is it an opportunity? Yes, for a little bit of a reset because it’s coincided with some significant inclusions.

“We need to move up the table and see where that takes us. I still think it’s really tight.

“At some point, unless teams are really lucky, the kind of injuries we’ve had will catch up with others as well, which gives us an opportunity if we can get on a run to move up the table.

“We can’t put the cue in the rack in terms of the league and say ‘let’s peter out and finish where we finish’. That’s not the mindset I want.

“We need to improve our league form, we need to move up the table and we need to tackle the task of trying to win a European trophy.”

Spurs were sixth and only three points off Arsenal when they won at Manchester City on November 23, but they are now closer to the relegation zone than the European qualification spots following a poor winter period.

Frustration amongst Tottenham supporters’ has often been aimed at chairman Daniel Levy rather than Postecoglou, given the long-term absences of Vicario, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.

Chants for Levy to leave have been frequently heard at matches since the middle of December and a protest against the club’s ownership is planned for before and after Sunday’s fixture with United by fan group Change for Tottenham.

Protests at Old Trafford have been a regular occurrence during the past decade and while Postecoglou has faced scrutiny at Spurs, he acknowledged opposite number Ruben Amorim had arguably the toughest job in football.

Postecoglou added: “I have great admiration for him. He is an outstanding manager and I have followed his career obviously. There is a reason why he was touted for quite a number of jobs.

“We all get judged on results, I get that. If you are in my position or where Ruben is now, you are going to get scrutiny, but I don’t think that means you are not coaching or managing well.

“I’m sure he will do a great job and irrespective, he will have a great career.

“All managerial jobs are tough but that Man United one has a bit extra on it, I reckon.”