At last, the beleaguered Ange Postecoglou has been able to enjoy some blessed respite from Tottenham’s travails as he hailed what felt like one of their most important wins of the season.
Spurs were desperate to end a winless run of seven Premier League matches and the 2-0 victory at Brentford on Sunday, which featured more grit than glamour from the Australian’s mercurial outfit, was just the ticket for Postecoglou at the start of a potentially critical week in his reign.
He recognised the huge relief among Spurs’ fans too and appreciated their show of support at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium as they cheered him after the win, which had come came courtesy of a shambolic Vitaly Janelt own goal and Pape Sarr’s late strike.
It moved Spurs up one place to 14th in the Premier League and gave them a real boost as they prepare for Thursday’s second leg of the League Cup semi-final at Anfield, where they’ll be protecting a 1-0 lead against soaraway leaders Liverpool.
A place in a Wembley final from the man who’s perhaps made himself hostage to fortune by having declared that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club could be a job-saver – well, at least a temporary job protector – for Postecoglou.
But he was definitely in cheerier mood than of late after the successful trip across London.
Asked if it felt like one of the most significant wins of the season for Spurs, Postecoglou conceded: “I guess in the context of where we are in terms of the season, it’s an important one because our league position’s not good enough, we need to address that.”
Of the fans’ delight, he added: “Yeah, great. It’s great for the supporters, great for the players too, because they’re all hurting, the players are hurting as well.
“I know it’s not where the supporters want to see their team, and certainly not where we want to be. We need to rectify that, but it was great to see that we could enjoy this game, enjoy the result, get the rewards for it.
“It’s only one game, and we need to rectify our league position, we know that. We’re not in a league position we want to be anywhere near.
“It’s been disappointing, but through that time, not through a lack of effort or will or determination by the players, they’re giving everything and I was super pleased today they could share that moment with the supporters.”
Postecoglou reckoned the prospect of injured players returning had lifted the squad, revealing key defender Micky van de Ven, rested after his Europa League return on Thursday, was still “likely” to feature against Liverpool.
Djed Spence returned with an impressive performance and Spurs have signed Lens defender Kevin Danso on loan, with the Austrian being hailed by Postecoglou “a great fit” for his side.
Postecoglou is also hoping to get a deal done with Chelsea for the signature of French defender Axel Disasi.
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