Ange Postecoglou is unequivocal in his belief that Tottenham will come through this tough period but has warned his squad, life will never be comfortable during his reign.
Spurs claimed an unwanted Premier League record on Thursday night when they went ahead for a fifth-consecutive Premier League match, but again failed to hold on with West Ham able to secure a 2-1 away win.
It continued the club’s poor run of results, which has coincided with their squad being depleted by injuries and suspensions but the latest example of Postecoglou’s team taking the lead and throwing it away sparked debate over the historic ‘Spursy’ tag.
While Postecoglou insisted rival fans using that word was akin to playground chat, he acknowledged his players must embrace the pressure if they are to be part of his journey in north London.
“That’s schoolyard stuff. All I need to know is that this club hasn’t won anything for 15 years. That’s all I need to know,” Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s visit of Newcastle.
“Why that is and why others may think that is and whatever tag, that’s the reality. There’s no getting away from that.
“There’s no point in me trying to disguise that, or anybody else at this football club trying to disguise that.
“If you want to be successful, then like most organisations, you’ve got to learn from the mistakes of the past, you’ve got to come up with a plan, you’ve got to stick to it.
“I have been there and I have the benefit of experience. I’ve been through this many times, so I know, unequivocally, what we need to do, but for a lot of these guys, it’s the first time and I’m always mindful of that wherever I’ve been.
“Always in the first season there are challenges.
“Players need to go through that and come out the other side and see that, ‘OK, we’ve survived that. It hasn’t killed us, we’re still going, we’re still alive, we’re still up for it,’ right? And then if anything, it can make us stronger going forward.
“My role in this is to guide the players through it. I know how we get through this and I know what the road ahead looks like, but they’ve got to go through it themselves and find out about it themselves.
“Do they want to be part of this because it’s not going to get any easier. That’s the one thing I keep telling them. There’s never going to be a time where it’s going to be smooth – not while I’m at the club.
“Even when things are going well. I’m going to be pushing for us to be better. I’m going to be pushing for us to improve and pushing for us to bring success to this football club.
“So, there’s never going to be a time where they can feel any sort of comfort that things are going to run smoothly. The more they embrace this side of it, the better.”
Tottenham’s major problem in recent weeks has been turning their dominance into goals and they have scored only once in four of their last five matches.
Postecoglou’s team gained plaudits for being great entertainers during the opening months of the campaign when they embarked on a 10-match unbeaten run, but he knows they must marry that with a killer edge.
“I don’t play this kind of football to entertain. I play this kind of football because it wins,” he said.
“Now it happens to also entertain, which I like, but I don’t think they need to be mutually exclusive.
“My whole career has been about winning things. That’s why I want us to play the way we are.
“That’s where you can sometimes fall down a trap and it’s happened at every club I’ve been at, where the players sometimes think playing that football is enough – it’s not.”
Glenmuir stay perfect in Zone I of daCosta Cup after 2-0 win over neighbours Garvey Maceo
Glenmuir High extended their perfect start to the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as they blanked neighbours Garvey Maceo 2-0 in a lopsided Zone I affair in May Pen, Clarendon, on Saturday.
Ricardo Binns’ third goal of the season in the 29th and Orel Miller’s seventh of the season in the 40th was enough to seal the three points, which kept Glenmuir atop the standings on maximum nine points.
The defeat, Garvey Maceo’s first of the season, saw them slip to third on six points as Foga Road (seven points) jumped to second after a 6-0 beating of Porus High.
Glenmuir’s Head coach Andrew Peart welcomed the win.
“I am pleased with the win and the maturity shown by the players. For most of them its three years so as they get older, you expect more of them and I thought they showed that. One of the key things for us was not to get the game stretched and I thought we did that well,” Peart said in a post-game interview.
“It is step by step where our title ambitions are concerned; for us, the main thing now is to get out of the group and then we go from there. Yes, we plan long term but we are working short term so its day by day for us right now,” he added.
It was expected to be a close contest between two of last season’s semi-finalists, but Glenmuir had other ideas and should have won by a wider margin.
The Champions Cup holders dominated proceedings from the start as they were enterprising in the attacking third and created numerous chances, though they struggled to apply the finishing touch.
It wasn’t until close to the half-hour mark that they inevitably broke the deadlock from a sustained attacking spell, when Binns headed into an empty net after a decent first touch kept the ball alive ahead of the advancing Garfield Tomlinson in goal for Garvey Maceo.
The lead was doubled 11 minutes later courtesy of Miller, who sidewined his way through four defenders before driving a firm left-footed effort past the hapless Tomlinson to make it 2-0 at the break.
Down, but not out, Garvey Maceo showed more purpose on the attacking front on the resumption and created a few half chances, which amounted to nothing.
From there, the contest offered very little to write home about as Glenmuir showed very little in attack, seemingly content with what they already had, while Garvey Maceo did little to trouble their opponents defensive line.
Garvey Maceo’s head coach Lester Hibbert believes indiscipline led to their demise.
“We gave them instructions to stay with their markers because Glenmuir was doing a lot of movements. When we started the game, we kept them behind the ball but we lost the discipline and conceded two goals, so we just have to brush ourselves off and come again for the next game on Wednesday,” Hibbert said.
Saturday’s results
Vere Technical 0, Kemps Hill 2
Glenmuir 2, Garvey Maceo 0
Foga Road 6, Porus 0
William Knibb 5, Holland 0
Maggotty High 1, Newell 0
Mannings 9, Godfrey Stewart 0
Alston 1, Troy 0
Herbert Morrison 3, St James 0
Anchovy 1, Rusea’s High 0
B.B Coke 1, Munro College 0
Lennon 0, Clarendon College 2
Irwin High 3, Green Pond High 3
Spot Valley 2, Cedric Titus 0
Port Antonio 2, Wycliffe Martin High 0
Grange Hill 1, Black River 2
Maldon 0, Cornwall College 1
'We played two different games' - Maresca hails Chelsea response in Bournemouth win
Enzo Maresca felt Chelsea reaped rewards for "getting your t-shirt dirty", as they snatched a late victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Blues endured a steady start with their hosts generating the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, with Robert Sanchez keeping out Evanilson's first-half penalty.
Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie also struck the woodwork for the hosts, but substitute Christopher Nkunku landed the decisive blow five minutes from time.
And Maresca was pleased with his side's response to a difficult first-half performance.
"We played two different games," he told Sky Sports. "The first half, we struggled. We didn't win duels; we didn't win second balls. The second half, we were much better.
"We knew before the game that Bournemouth are very high-pressing, man-to-man orientated. We faced a team who are very aggressive, it was more off the ball that we struggled. [The] second half completely changed the picture.
"This is football. Last time against [Crystal] Palace, we completely deserved to win the game. We had chances and we drew. Today, it was there, and, in the end, we won.
"You cannot come here to this stadium and think about winning the game without getting your t-shirt dirty. You need to win duels, you need to fight. If we are able to do this for 95 minutes, you have more chances to win games."
Maresca handed a debut to new signing Jadon Sancho, who was introduced as a half-time substitute before providing the assist for Nkunku's winner.
And the Manchester United loanee lifted the lid on how he is finding life since his switch to Stamford Bridge.
"It's amazing to make my debut for Chelsea," he told Sky Sports. "Just being back playing, I'm very grateful. The team played very well; we dug in to the end and got the three points.
"I've been working hard for this moment, and I'm happy I got my chance. Going into this season, I wanted to have a good start, and I'm happy.
"I have to say thank you to the staff and teammates. The first day I came in, they made me feel welcome and comfortable."
Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both scored penalties as Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad 2-0 at the Reale Arena.
Carlo Ancelotti's side moved to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who visit fifth-place Girona on Sunday.
Already without the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid suffered another injury blow in the 24th minute when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue.
After a goalless first half, the visitors broke through 13 minutes after the restart with Vinicius slotting home from 12 yards after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler's shot.
Vinicus was then felled for Madrid's second penalty, which was awarded following a VAR review, with Mbappe making no mistake in sealing all three points.
Data Debrief: Madrid extend unbeaten streak
Extending their unbeaten LaLiga streak to 37 matches, Madrid have now won four successive away league games against Basque opposition for the first time since a run of four such victories between 2011 and 2013.
By contrast, Sociedad have now suffered four straight home defeats in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2007.
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