Ange Postecoglou insists his recent joke was not aimed at Tottenham fans

Ange Postecoglou has insisted that his joke following the win over Eintracht Frankfurt was intended at the media rather than Tottenham fans, explaining what he has found in his interactions with the Spurs supporters he meets.

Rumours continue to circulate over the Tottenham head coach’s future, with a number of outlets now claiming that Ange Postecoglou will be sacked at the end of the season even if Spurs win the Europa League.

Needless to say, the Spurs head coach has not been very pleased with the things that have been said and written about him.

After Tottenham beat Eintracht Frankfurt to reach to Europa League semifinal two weeks ago, Postecoglou said: “Unfortunately, you guys are going to have to put up with me for just a little bit longer.”

Ange Postecoglou makes claim about his relationship with Tottenham fans

The Australian manager’s detractors, including some Spurs fans, did not like his statement, but the Tottenham boss has made it clear that his words were not intended for the supporters.

Ange Postecoglou told Football.London: “It wasn’t directed to the fans, and there was a bit of irony there. Do you guys not have a sense of humour? Seriously?” 

The 59-year-old insisted that the Tottenham fans he has interacted with are understanding of the team’s unfortunate circumstances this season, insisting that his remit was always to build the foundations for long-term success.

When Postecoglou was asked if he was creating a ‘us against the world’ framing when that did not entirely exist, he responded: “You’re right, because there are plenty of people including Tottenham supporters who I still see every day who I bump into who are very, very supportive, even though they are very disappointed with the year that we’ve had, with what I’m trying to do, absolutely.

“I don’t think I feel like it’s ‘them against me’. It’s more about the club. I’m trying to change the perception of the club. I do think there is a narrative around the club that – and most of the time I’m not talking about you blokes who are here regularly because you know me a little bit better – but I think there is this narrative of trying to set this club up for some sort of fall, consistently.

“And there is no allowance for any kind of building of foundations for something a bit different than before. The one thing you do know is you know what doesn’t work here.

“Yes, I’m trying to do things very, very differently. It hasn’t all worked out, for sure, some of it has gone disastrously wrong, I accept that, but I said from the start, we need to chart a different course if we are ever going to break the cycle that this club has been in.

“Bizarrely, we’re still in that position where we can do that. I’ve never taken it personally, I’ve never taken it as against me, even if it was against me, but I think there is a kind of narrative around that this club has been on some sort of downward spiral again or going down the same rabbit hole it has in the past. Whereas I think this is totally different and there has been very little acknowledgement of that.

“Some of it is me poking the bear a bit as well, mate. Maybe it’s my Aussie humour but it certainly gets lost a great number of times when I say things tongue-in-cheek.

“If people would seriously think I would say to our supporters that ‘you’re going to have put up with me for a little bit longer’, it’s just madness, that would never be the case.”

Postecoglou admits Spurs problems have been self-inflicted

While Spurs may still end the season with a trophy, there is no way of sugar-coating how poor they have been in the Premier League.

Tottenham are on course to achieving their lowest-ever Premier League points tally, and the Australian confessed that it has been one step forward and two steps back for the side all campaign.

Postecoglou added: “It feels like a season where we’ve just been chasing everything. We just haven’t been able to gain any momentum or traction or get ahead of the curve in terms of trying to establish a real footing in the league. Every time we take a couple of steps forward, it seems like…some of it has been self-inflicted.

“Last week’s a good case in point, we played really well but our start was awful so you lost another game, but it wasn’t because we didn’t play well. It was because we didn’t get a great start. At other times, it’s been stuff that’s out of our control. Losing key players to injuries. It just hasn’t gone anywhere near to plan – well, not to plan because it never goes to plan but to a place where we can chart a course forward.

“In the context of everything that’s happened in the league, we still had a very good Carabao Cup run, now it’s in Europa. There’s no other way to describe our season in the league other than one that’s fallen well below expectations, but there’s still an opportunity for us to do something special.”

• READ MORE: Tottenham labelled a ‘graveyard for coaches’ by man who had a public spat with Postecoglou

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