Djed Spence has made it clear that the Tottenham players are firmly behind Ange Postecoglou and believe in what he wants them to do.
Spurs' upturn in recent weeks in the Premier League with three wins in a row came to an abrupt halt with a defeat to Manchester City and then a dismal display in Alkmaar against AZ in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday night. Tottenham escaped with a 1-0 deficit to take into the second leg in north London next week but Spence believes that not only will they turn it around but that the players are firmly behind Postecoglou.
"Most definitely. We believe in what he wants us to do. We try to implement that in every game," said the 24-year-old. "Of course it’s not going to work in every game but the manager has our full support. We are all behind him and we want to show that by winning games. We didn’t win today but come next week we’ll get the win."
He added: "We’ve got to play better. Most definitely we can turn it around. We’re a good side and come Thursday, we will turn it around."
The week ahead brings three matches in eight days in a crucial period for Postecoglou's future. Sunday brings the visit of Bournemouth to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. In the reverse fixture at the Vitality Stadium, Postecoglou received criticism from the travelling Spurs fans as he went over to applaud them and it was Spence who came over and placed his hand on the head coach's back to check on him.
“He’s the manager of the football club, you know. He’s the manager and we are a team and a family," said Spence. “When one of your family members is in trouble or whatever, you go to support them.
“That’s what I did, supported the manager. We all fight for him at the end of the day and that’s our main target for the team."
Spence's form has earned him a Premier League player of the month nomination and the full-back looks like a man ready to take on all-comers on the pitch.
"Yeah, I’m very confident at the moment, I’m playing well," he said. "Most importantly it's about the team, we need to win. Come next week and Thursday, we need to get through to the next round so I think that’s the most important thing.
“There’s always something to play for [in the Premier League]. We want to win as many games as possible and when we do that, we’ll see where we are at the end of the season."
With the current plight of Tottenham, firmly in the bottom half of the table and out of both domestic cups, you might expect a sense of frustration among the squad but Spence said that's not the case.
“No, no frustration. The only frustration is we’ve had a lot of injuries so naturally it’s a setback for the team but we have a strong mentality, we fight," he said. "The mood in the group is good."
Spence has been tipped to earn a spot in Thomas Tuchel's England squad sooner rather than later and while it's something that would delight him, he's not going to focus on it.
"Who doesn’t want to play for their country? That’s something I’m looking forward to. If I get called up, happy days, if I don’t, I’ll just keep working hard," he said. "I haven’t heard from anyone. I’m just focusing on right now, I just want to keep playing well and help the team to win games."
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