Postecoglou bemoans ‘negative narrative’ around Spurs

Ange Postecoglou, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, has criticised the “negative narrative” surrounding the club despite their success in the Europa League.

Spurs defeated Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the opening match of their Europa League semifinal on Thursday, but they are currently 16th in the Premier League after falling 19 of their 34 games.

Due to Postecoglou’s struggles this season, Tottenham has been under pressure and has sparked protests against club chairman Daniel Levy.

Before his team’s league game against West Ham on Sunday (14:00 BST), Postecoglou stated, “I’ve said before, the narrative around the club is not positive at all.

There is always some sort of negative connotation to everything that happens at the club, regardless of whether you follow it or not. You must break through that if you want to change that.

After Bodo/Glimt scored a goal back in the 84th minute, Postecoglou felt nervous and tense inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but he now expects his players to remain positive as they try to win silverware for the first time since 2008.

There’s always the option of not getting too excited about what’s happening, he said, because “Tottenham supporters have had some real near misses for a long time.”

Winners don’t think in that manner. They are unaware of what might go wrong. With this group of players, I’m trying to create that clarity with them about what they need to do to win.

It says, “If you expect something to go wrong, it will.” You try to criticize that, but your approach requires a clear-eyed focus on the important things.

The Australian manager has previously made comments about the club culture before, with one leaker inside Spurs last month.

James Maddison will undergo a scan after suffering a knee injury on Thursday, while Lucas Bergvall will likely miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.