Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has conceded that his job’s now on the line and that a “fair chunk” of the fans will want him out after their demoralising home capitulation against basement-dwelling Leicester City.
With his injury-ravaged side 15th in the Premier League and in apparent freefall amid a calamitous run following the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, the Australian sighed that Spurs were “as low as we’ve been” and admitted: “It hurts, it hurts a lot.”
But in the teeth of an increasingly mutinous air among the fan base who’ve backed him up to now, Postecoglou still saluted his players, saying he believed they were giving everything for him and could still do something “special”.
But will he be given time to lead any revival?
Spurs are still in contention for three trophies and leading 1-0 after the first leg of the League Cup semi-final with Liverpool, but the pressure’s pouring down relentlessly on the 59-year-old after this loss.
Spurs’ first-half 1-0 lead, courtesy of a Richarlison goal, slipped away in the first five minutes after the break as Leicester, who’d lost their seven previous league games, scored through Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannous.
Asked if he would still be around once Spurs, currently without 10 injured first-team squad players, got those key men back over the next few weeks, Postecoglou shrugged: “Who knows?
“I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no.
“When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that.
“Yeah, it hurts. It hurts a lot. The players gave everything again. We are going to look at a lot of things, but in terms of effort I can’t ask any more of this group, things just didn’t go our way today.
“But I can even see in training when the guys who are coming back come back, it is going to give everybody a lift.
“As I keep saying to the players, there is a fantastic opportunity this season to really make an impact and I know we can.”
But Postecoglou, a footballing dreamer, is nothing if not a realist when it comes to his current plight.
“I’m a football manager and I get judged on results, that is the way of the world,” he shrugged.
“I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. It’s not good enough.
“If people want to put context to that they can, if not so be it. I’m still very much stuck on the fact the players are just giving everything they can.
“I know it will turn.”
But the White Hart Lane natives are getting restless, with pundits turning their sights on Postecoglou.
One former Spurs player Jamie O’Hara launched a stinging attack on Sky Sports, saying: “Ange Postecoglou is out of his depth.”
“It’s understandable the fans are not happy with our current situation,” admitted Postecoglou.
“It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home to create an atmosphere.”
