Tottenham’s players look like they are now hiding behind Ange Postecoglou and chairman Daniel Levy after their “shocking” midweek display against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, says Paul Merson.
Spurs, who travel to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday, took a one-goal lead to Anfield on Thursday night but were thrashed 4-0 as they missed out on the chance to take on Newcastle in next month’s Carabao Cup final.
Meanwhile, Tottenham’s Premier League points tally leaves them closer to the relegation zone than a place in Europe next season, and Merson says Postecoglou’s side are “horrible” to watch right now.
“Everybody is hiding behind the manager and Levy now, that’s what I feel,” he said.
“There were some experienced players out there [against Liverpool]. There were a lot of caps out there and for me it wasn’t good enough. It was like ‘if we get beat it’ll be down to Ange and it will be down to Levy’.
“I thought it was shocking.
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Highlights from the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur
“There are ways of losing. Everybody loses football matches, whoever you may be you [can] lose a football match, but there are ways, this is a semi-final, dig in.
“I think Ange is caught in between [the Devil and] the Deep Blue Sea now.
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Jamie Carragher explains why he wasn’t surprised by Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final
“They neither attack nor defend. At least before it was gung-ho, it was like we’ll have a load of shots and we might get well beat.
“But now it’s like they are not really defending but they’re not attacking neither It’s a horrible watch. It’s a horrible watch at the moment.”
Ange: Talk over future ‘doesn’t enter my head’
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Ange Postecoglou reacted to the damning views of the Sky Sports pundits’ assessment of Spurs’ performance during the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool, saying he doesn’t care and is not bothered about people’s views
Postecoglou says will shut out talk about his future and focus on trying to salvage Tottenham’s season when they travel to Villa in the FA Cup.
Postecoglou knows speculation over his job will intensify if an FA Cup exits follows the heavy Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool.
Asked if he would still be in charge if they lost at Villa, Postecoglou replied: “That doesn’t enter my head.
“I get that’s obviously a massive topic of discussion because when things aren’t going well you look at the person who’s largely responsible for that and that’s me.
“You’ve got to get on with it. It doesn’t change the decisions I make, how I feel, how I work today or how determined I am to continue on this path.
“Right now the focus is on getting this group of players recovered for Sunday. It’s a big game and hopefully a positive result and then over the next couple of weeks we’ll get some significant players back, which I think will help.
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Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou stood his ground following their Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool and says he isn’t listening to outside opinions
“We’re an easy mark at the moment. There’s inconsistency in our play, everyone is saying I’m making excuses about injuries and it’s kind of easy, with the club not having won a trophy in a long time, for people to pile on.
“It does feel like there’s very much an eagerness to take the club down for one reason or another when the opportunity exists.
“At the moment we’re giving them the opportunity but that can’t chart our way forward. That can’t be our motivation to change people’s opinions.”
