Tottenham Hotspur lost for the fifth time in the Premier League this season on Sunday afternoon, beaten by Ipswich Town, who recorded their first triumph of the campaign, prompting Alan Shearer to criticise the North London outfit's inconsistency, but insist that Ange Postecoglou is not under pressure.
A spectacular overhead kick from Sammie Szmodics and a tap-in from Liam Delap gave the Tractor Boyes a two-goal lead at half-time, before Rodrigo Bentancur pulled one back in the second period. Despite pushing for an equaliser late-on, it didn't come, condemning Spurs to tenth place heading into the international break.
While lamenting the Lillywhites for producing erratically mixed results throughout the course of the season so far, Shearer doesn't believe this should warrant serious pressure on Postecoglou's job, as the Australian's side remain in touching distance of the top four.
Shearer: Postecoglou Not Under Pressure
They're only three points behind third
After investing heavily in the summer, signing the likes of Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall, Spurs were expected to push on this season and compete for silverware, as well as qualify for the Champions League. Only three points behind third place Chelsea, in the Quarter-Final of the EFL Cup and seventh in the Europa League, their objectives are still achievable, but the unpredictable nature of their results and performances will be a cause for concern.
Postecoglou is under growing pressure to enact a level of consistency, although the former Celtic head coach isn't quite under the firing line as of yet. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, when asked if the Spurs boss was under pressure, Shearer responded:
"Typical Spurs though, isn't it? My goodness me. They beat City at home, they beat Villa at home with a great win, and then you got Ipswich at home. Ipswich turn you over.
I don't think so [Postecoglou under pressure]. No, I think you just look at it like that, he took responsibility, didn't he? He said it's his fault, his problem. He's got to sort it out. But when you see them in the second half against Villa and then beating City, it's just, it's the inconsistency again. How long have we been saying that about Spurs?"