'Is it boasting?' Postecoglou defends 'second-season trophy' remark

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has defended his comment about "always" winning trophies in his second season - and says he is "amazed" and "confused" by negative reaction.

The 59-year-old made the remark following Spurs' 1-0 home defeat by north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.

He told Sky Sports: "I'll correct myself - I don't usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing's changed."

Speaking on Tuesday before Spurs' Carabao Cup tie at Coventry, the former Celtic boss said: "It's amazing, isn't it? I just stated a fact. Am I supposed to just lie or just say it never happened?

"But do you really think it's me sort of boasting?

"It's just confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer something that is true.

"I've just said something that's true, and it seems like it's upset a lot of people for some reason."

Spurs finished fifth in the Premier League after a drop in form in the second half of last season, and are 13th this campaign with one win in four.

Their last trophy was the 2008 League Cup - the only competition they have won in the 21st Century.

Postecoglou won the Australian title with both South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, and the Japanese league with Yokohama F Marinos - all in his second season or second full season in charge.

He also won the Asian Cup two years after becoming Australia manager, and the Scottish championship in both seasons with Celtic.

Postecoglou was asked whether saying he wins trophies in his second season adds pressure on him and his team this campaign.

He said: "In my 26 years of managing I’ve had success and most of that has come in the second year, not all of it. Sometimes it’s happened in the first year, sometimes in the third year.

“I don’t see why that puts extra pressure. It doesn’t put extra pressure on me because I love the fact that I’ve done that. It’s what I want to do here.

“I’d like to think that just saying the truth is the way to go forward but I think sometimes that’s too confronting for people, they’d much rather I didn’t."

Spurs were beaten by Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last season and lost to Fulham on penalties in the EFL Cup second round.

Postecoglou said he felt he had "failed" last season by not winning a trophy because that is how he is "geared".

He added: "I’ve made it pretty clear what my expectations are. But that doesn’t mean that I stop, that just fuels the fire of ‘why didn’t I do it?’

"There’s no chance in any universe I could have got here from Australia and be sitting here answering questions at one of the biggest clubs in the world and the best competition in the world if I didn’t have some sort of self-belief based on something of substance.

“I was never going to get here with my charm and good looks.”

Last week Spurs vice-captain Cristian Romero shared a social media post suggesting he was tired after travelling back from international duty on a commercial flight, unlike some of his team-mates who had private jets arranged.

Although it is down to international football federations - Argentina in Romero's case - to arrange travel, some clubs step in.

Romero was beaten to the ball by Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes as he headed in the winner on Sunday.

Postecoglou confirmed Romero was not rushed back as the match took place on Sunday, and that his defender reported no complaints before kick-off.

"No, it was mentioned to me [after] but it wasn’t mentioned to me before the game," said Postecoglou.

"No-one reported anything other than the usual checks of people coming back from international duty, so prior to the game no-one said anything."

But he added that he had sympathy over general workload concerns by players, amid comments made by Manchester City duo Rodri and Manuel Akanji, and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

"The international calendar is really putting some strenuous demands on footballers performing at the highest level," said Postecoglou.

"It is something we need to have a look at from a holistic view, but it is not really relevant to the current situation.

"We are definitely pushing the boundaries of what we are asking of players today, if we want elite performances across the board and players constantly being available.

"I think we are bursting at the seams in terms of how much we require from players, absolutely."

Source: BBC