Ange Postecoglou’s honeymoon period as Tottenham manager has come to an end and the pressure may soon be mounting on him to deliver success.
That’s the verdict of former Tottenham and Arsenal winger David Bentley, who admits he fears Spurs could be edged out of the battle to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season.
The bookies have slashed their odds on Postecoglou becoming the first English top flight manager to lose his job this season after Spurs collected just four points from their opening three games.
They missed a host of chances in their opening game of the season at Leicester and dropped two points in a 1-1 draw, with a defeat against Newcastle in the last round of Premier League fixtures dampening pre-season optimism among Spurs fans.
Now Bentley is predicting Spurs boss Postecoglou could start to feel the heat for the first time since his arrival at the club if he loses Sunday’s North London derby against Arsenal.
“You are going to find yourself under pressure at a club like Tottenham if you are losing matches,” Bentley told Football365 with William Hill.
“Ange was welcomed into the football club because what came before him with (Jose) Mourinho and (Antonio) Conte was not what the fans wanted to see.
“There was negativity both with the style of football and also among the fans in general and I think Ange has repaired those two elements.
“After that, it all comes down to results and if they are going against you, the pressure will not be long in coming your way.
“I like Ange and what he has done at the club. He has changed the energy among the fans for the better, but that only goes so far. You need to win matches or the pressure builds. That’s football.
“The honeymoon period of last season is over now so they have to try and get to the next level.
“That means finishing in the top four and trying to win a trophy because as we know, Tottenham haven’t won anything for a long time and their fans are fed up hearing about it.
“You look at Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool and they are really strong. You’d expect them to be in the top four and then you see Spurs fighting it out with Chelsea and Man United.
“Even though they have had their problems, Chelsea and United have a great squad and if they get it right, Spurs might struggle to finish fourth.”
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Bentley, who spent five years at Tottenham after starting his career at Arsenal, believes the 1-1 draw at Leicester on the opening weekend of the season highlighted the flaws in Pochettino’s side.
“I looked at the Leicester game and it was a big worry for me,” stated Bentley. “You can take a lot out of that game and say it summed up Tottenham.
“The first half, they were moving the ball around and they were absolutely battering Leicester, they couldn’t get near them.
“Players were on the ball and expressing themselves, James Maddison bossing it and you would think there is only one winner.
“Then you look at the second half and they could have lost the game. That’s Tottenham. This is the side Ange has to work on.
Arsenal sealed a 3-2 away win against Tottenham last April as they soaked up the pressure and hit their North London rivals with sucker punches.
Now Bentley believes Gunners boss Mikel Arteta may attempt to repeat that approach this weekend as he added: “Tottenham have to go after them and their big players need to have a major influence.
“They also need to get their fans involved and use that home advantage. If they allow Arsenal to dictate the game, Spurs will come out second best.
“That’s what happened in this match last year. Arsenal put pressure on their keeper and everything they tried worked. They absorbed what Tottenham threw at them and hit them hard on the break and were 3-0 up quickly.
“So they need to impose themselves on the game and hopefully run over Arsenal. That’s easier said than done.”