A defiant Ange Postecoglou says he is “not hurting” and is not interested in whether fans back him after the Tottenham boss suffered abuse from supporters in Thursday’s defeat at Bournemouth.
Postecoglou confronted a section of angry away fans at full-time after Spurs lost 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium, which leaves Tottenham with just one win from their last six games in all competitions.
The Australian said the fans’ insults and frustrations have made him “just as determined” to turn things around, as his side prepare to host London rivals Chelsea on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Sunday 8th December 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
He said on Friday of the abuse: “I’m the person in charge. I’m the person that has set us off in this direction and I am the person who needs to fix it.
“I’m not hurting, I am determined and that’s all. I don’t want to say it is unacceptable because it is what it is. I have lived in this world for long enough to know that when people aren’t happy, they’ll express their opinions and I am never going to hide.
“I am never going to shirk that responsibility, that’s fine. I will take it on board. Is it nice? No, because like I said last night I am not just a manager, I am a human being like everyone else and none of us like to hear those sorts of things, but it is what it is.
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Postecoglou reveals he received ‘direct feedback’ from disappointed Spurs fans after his side lost 1-0 at Bournemouth
“It doesn’t disappoint me, it doesn’t frustrate me, it doesn’t make me angry. I am just as determined as ever to get it right, not because of that but because of my resolve to bring success to the football club.”
Asked for a message to the fans, he replied: “No messages. I’m here, I’m going to fight to make sure we bring success to this football club. Nothing really changes.
“Where there’s doubt, whether that’s internally or externally, it just makes my resolve even stronger to make sure we get it right.”
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Spurs boss Postecoglou was disappointed with the loss at Bournemouth labelling it ‘not good enough’
The 59-year-old also insisted he is not interested in whether fans back him or not.
“They aren’t behind me, they are behind the club. I have got no interest in who is behind me,” he said.
“Last night you have to figure the fans who travel to Bournemouth are fairly hardcore supporters. They weren’t happy with what they saw and they felt like they needed to give some feedback. I took the feedback onboard and we move on.”
Postecoglou also played down the need for support from the club board or supporters during a tough period of form.
Postecoglou was involved in an angry confrontation with Spurs fans at Bournemouth
“I don’t need support. I don’t worry about contracts or support, I just want to make sure that what I set out to do I accomplish and that is bring success to this football club,” he said.
“I’ll work my backside off to make sure that happens. I’m not going to be deterred in my ambitions or endeavour to do that, and that’s what I’ll keep doing.”
Postecoglou defends ‘right decision’ to sign youngsters
Postecoglou has defended the club’s summer transfer policy and insisted the decision to sign a number of teenagers will eventually bear fruit.
Spurs are in the middle of a difficult period with eight players now unavailable after losing Ben Davies to a hamstring injury in the loss at Bournemouth.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Tottenham
Sunday’s opponents Chelsea are already eight points clear of Spurs, who signed Dominic Solanke for £65m in the summer, but spent the rest of their budget on teenage prospects in Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert. Min-Hyuk Yang, an 18-year-old from South Korea, will also join in January.
While Postecoglou has watched his depleted team lose three of their last six matches in all competitions and drop to 10th in the Premier League, he is positive the club’s long-term approach will pay off.
“We needed to do that because it was a team that was coming towards the end of its cycle, and we were rebuilding not just the squad but the playing style, and you couldn’t replace experience with experience because that is not a rebuild,” Postecoglou said.
“It is still the right decision and I own them [transfers] because I believe they are the right decisions for this club. I have said numerous times, I make these decisions with the kind of background that I’m going to be here for a while to see this through.
“To be honest, if I was worried about my own existence, I would have fought tooth and nail to block Harry Kane leaving [for Bayern Munich] but it wasn’t the right decision for the club because he was in the last year of his contract. That is not what drives me.
“The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for this club for where we are at right now, and they will bear fruit.”
Spurs’ next six games
Sunday: Chelsea (h) – live on Sky Sports
Thursday: Rangers (a) – Europa League
December 15: Southampton (a)
December 19: Manchester United (h) – live on Sky Sports, Carabao Cup quarter-final
December 22: Liverpool (h) – live on Sky Sports
Boxing Day: Nottingham Forest (a)
