Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou expressed confidence on Sept 20 that his team's strong performances will lead them to victory in their upcoming Premier League match against Brentford, emphasizing that their efforts will eventually pay off despite the lack of results so far this season.
Postecoglou’s men are bracing for five games across all competitions over two weeks, following a lacklustre start to the season.
Spurs welcome Brentford on Sept 21 off the back of one win from four league games, a home victory against Everton.
Tottenham were held to a draw at Leicester City and lost at Newcastle United but perhaps the most crushing result was a home defeat in a tight north London derby, settled by Arsenal’s set piece prowess, which is proving to be Spurs’ weakness.
Tottenham had 64 per cent possession and 15 shots on target compared to Arsenal’s seven in their 1-0 defeat.
Asked if he felt pressure ahead of facing Brentford, Postecoglou said he was resolute in his ways and had a long term vision for the team.
“Doesn’t change, it’s the same whether you win the first four. I’d hate to think ‘you’re going into this game thinking you can lose it’ We’re at home and we also played well in all those four games,” the Australian coach told reporters.
“Performances have been really consistent in terms of dominating games but we haven’t really got a reward for our dominance and that’s the area we’re still trying to focus on in terms of the front third to make sure we get rewards for our good play.”
Australian Postecoglou, the first Spurs manager in five years to last a full season, added: “I know I will not be here forever but I work like I will be.
“Every decision I make is made off that backdrop. If you get caught in timeline scenarios, you make results that short-term might feel good, but long term you will not get to where you want.”
Postecoglou said injured midfielder Yves Bissouma and forward Timo Werner are available winger Wilson Odobert has been ruled out of the Sept 21 game after sustaining a hamstring injury in a Sept 18 2-1 League Cup third round win over Coventry.
He added it was too early to judge Tottenham’s £65 million (S$100 million) record signing Dominic Solanke, who was sidelined by an ankle injury but played just over an hour on Sept 18, after three appearances for the club without scoring.
“We did look at (former Brentford striker) Ivan Toney but as I have said Dom was the one I wanted and it took pretty much the whole summer to get him in.
“If he has gone 15 games without a goal then I can answer that question or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed, but I just think (you need to) take a breath.”