Besieged Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou launches stinging defence of players after FA Cup exit

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou says his players “tried their hardest” in Tottenham’s 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round loss to Aston Villa.

Ange Postecoglou says “skewed analysis” of Tottenham’s poor form is part of an “agenda” to have him sacked as Spurs manager.

Spurs were on Monday morning (AEDT) knocked out of the FA Cup, losing 2-1 at Aston Villa in a fourth-round clash at Villa Park.

The defeat came just a few days after Tottenham’s English League Cup run came to an end with a 4-0 semi-final second-leg loss at Anfield to Liverpool, who won 4-1 over two legs.

Spurs remain in the Europa League, but with Tottenham struggling in 14th on the English Premier League ladder, pressure continues to mount on Postecoglou.

“People can judge me, they can say I’ve done a bad job, that I’m not up to it or whatever – that’s not of interest to me,” Postecoglou said.

“My responsibility at this football club, for the group of players and this team IS to get them to play in a manner I want them to that will bring us success.

“Whether people think I can do that or not, that’s for others to judge.”

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou thanks Tottenham fans after his side’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Postecoglou leapt to the defence of his thin squad, saying the club’s extensive injury list meant that he was asking the same players to play two matches a week since the middle of November.

“They’ve given everything they can, and I’ve got so much respect and admiration for the players and the way they’ve gone about that,” the former Socceroos coach said.

“I don’t care about me … but you can’t judge this group of players with what’s happened this past two and a half months – they’ve given everything.

“It’s too easy for people to be critical of them. They tried their hardest – that’s all you can ask.”

Postecoglou also refuted claims that Spurs’ injury crisis – 11 first-team players are sidelined – could not be considered a legitimate reason for the club’s ordinary form.

“It can’t be that people think that that’s just an excuse. That’s just not anywhere near close to objective analysis. That’s just agenda-driven stuff,” he said.

“If it’s to get rid of me, then that’s fine, good on you, go for it a million times, but in terms of this group of players, what they’ve given over the last two and half months has been outstanding. It’s a credit to them. I can’t speak highly enough of them.

“If you want to measure anything on what they’re doing at the moment, other than the fact of the extreme situation they’re dealing with, then I think you’re analysis is skewed – it’s not objective.”

Dejected Tottenham captain Son Heung-min reflects on his side’s FA Cup exit at Villa Park. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

In a horror start at Villa Park, a goalkeeping mistake from Antonin Kinsky gifted the hosts the lead in just the first minute through a goal from Jacob Ramsey.

Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s advantage in the 64th minute before new Tottenham signing Mathys Tel scored in stoppage time to give the visitors’ faint hope.

However, Spurs ran out of time to join Liverpool and Chelsea as fellow fourth-round Cup casualties.

“We could have risked a couple (of players) but for what’s ahead, we went conservative on that,” Postecoglou said.

Spurs return to action next Monday morning (AEDT) when they host Manchester United in a Premier League match.

“We’ll get a couple of players back, which is also great for this group that they’ll get some help, and we move on,” the Tottenham boss said.

Originally published as Besieged Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou launches stinging defence of players after FA Cup exit