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• The Guardian
• Wed Apr 16 2025

Ange Postecoglou has said Tottenham will fight ?tooth and nail? to salvage their season by reaching the Europa League semi-finals and admitted he ?couldn?t care less? about speculation over his future.

Tottenham will be without Son Heung?min for the second leg of their quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday because of a foot injury. Postecoglou admitted that it was a blow to lose his captain as his team prepare for their most important game of the season, after a 17th Premier League defeat of the campaign against Wolves on Sunday.

However, asked whether he was feeling the burden of pressure as Spurs attempt to reach the last four of this competition for the first time since winning it in 1984, Postecoglou said he is not concerned about what fate awaits him if they lose.

?No, not at all mate,? the Australian said. ?Because I don?t define my career and me as a person by what people think about me. I never have. Never will. If you don?t think I?m a good coach today, you won?t think I?m a good coach tomorrow, even if we win. One game ain?t going to make a difference to that. You either think I?m capable of doing the job now or you don?t.

?That?s where I sit with these things. If people think that us winning tomorrow all of a sudden makes me a better manager than what I am today or us losing tomorrow somehow makes me a worse manager, I guess that?s their burden, not mine. I don?t think that way and I don?t think most people think that way. Or I?d like to think they don?t, in terms of their own sort of self-esteem and who they are as people. I couldn?t care less.

?What I?m sitting here doing is thinking we?ve got a great opportunity to get to the final four of a major tournament. I?m not going to let that slip by without fighting tooth and nail for it irrespective of what may come the day after.?

Bournemouth?s Andoni Iraola and Crystal Palace?s Oliver Glasner ? who led Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022 ? have been linked to Spurs if Postecoglou is sacked. Tottenham are on course for their lowest Premier League points tally after a season that has been scarred by injuries and individual errors, with Postecoglou confirming that Guglielmo Vicario and Cristian Romero will retain their places despite making mistakes against Wolves.

?It?s better they don?t make them at all but they?re human beings, these things happen,? he said. ?Both have got a really good mentality, they?re both strong leaders, they?re both strong individuals. They weren?t hiding away from the fact that they made those mistakes, they owned up to them which is no surprise to me. And I think they?ll go out tomorrow night not thinking about that but, again, thinking about the opportunity for us.?

Frankfurt have lost only once at home against an English club in eight meetings and the Frankfurt defender Robin Koch, formerly of Leeds, warned Spurs they will be entering ?the lion?s den? of 58,000 supporters at Deutsche Bank Park. But Micky van de Ven is confident they can cope with the hostile atmosphere and was adamant that the Tottenham players are still behind Postecoglou.

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?We all still have the trust in the gaffer and still have trust in the way he?s playing,? he said. ?So tomorrow we want to win the game of course for him, but also for us, also for the club, and also for the fans.

?It hasn?t been a really good season, but it?s a big game for us and of course we want to achieve something special this season. I think this is the best way to do it.?