Former Tottenham midfielder and assistant coach Gus Poyet explains why Ange Postecoglou’s main focus this season would be on the cup competitions rather than the Premier League.
The knives were being sharpened for Postecoglou ahead of Tottenham‘s trip to the Etihad, with critics ready to jump on the Australian if his side suffered a heavy defeat.
However, instead, Spurs delivered a stunning message by thrashing the Premier League champions 4-0, showing yet again why the current project has plenty of promise.
The result leaves Tottenham just four points off Manchester City in second place, with the Lilywhites still very much in the thick of the race for Champions League qualification.
Even though Tottenham are in touching distance of the top four, Poyet believes that Postecoglou‘s number one priority will be to deliver silverware this season.
The Uruguayan insisted that consistency remains an issue for Spurs and that his former side would have to sort that problem out before they can dream of challenging the best sides in the division.
Poyet, who was Juande Ramos’ assistant when Tottenham last lifted a trophy in 2008, told BetVictor: “Tottenham can beat anyone on their day, I’ve always said that. At times they look so impressive but then the next minute their level drops. There’s a lack of consistency.
“A perfect example of that is the 3-2 loss to Brighton earlier this season. They were so impressive in the first half, then the second half was a disaster! It’s not an easy problem to fix and it takes time, but it’s something they need to put right.
“Micky van de Ven has been a big loss because he had an impressive start to the season. Ange Postecoglou plays with a very high line, so you need pace at the back and Spurs miss that when he’s not playing. It’s a bit unfair on the rest of the team to say he’s solely responsible for them conceding fewer goals, but he is very important.
“That second half against Brighton wasn’t down to one player missing, it was the whole team. They need to maintain a high level for the whole 90 minutes if they are going to win more games and win trophies.
“Postecoglou is going for a trophy this season. There was the famous interview where he said he always wins a trophy in his second season, so I think he’ll be targeting one of the cups. He’s not going to be resting players in cup competitions if he has a big game in the Premier League at the weekend, no chance.
“It’s about being good enough on the day in those competitions. There are already some big teams out of the Carabao Cup, which is important, but it’s still up to Spurs to perform. I’m in no doubt that Ange will be targeting a cup this year.”
Postecoglou has come under a lot of criticism for being too stubborn since arriving at Tottenham, with many labelling him as naive for his insistence on being so open.
However, Poyet urged the Spurs head coach to stick to his guns and not compromise his principles, pointing out that the players will not buy into his methods unless he has conviction.
Poyet added: “When a coach is convinced that their style works, they really are convinced. Then the players also become convinced of the system. If you start changing things around then players begin to doubt you, because they’re intelligent and they know whether or not a coach is convinced of their style.
“Ange knows his system works because they have put in some great performances, but he just needs to link it with some consistency. He is so convinced in his style, and he may still be tweaking things in the background which we don’t notice, so it’s better for him to keep persisting with what he wants to do.”
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