Ange Postecoglou reiterated his winning mentality ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s derby clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
“I just want to win, mate,” the Australian, 59, said during his pre-match press conference, with his comments forming after he was asked if he feels more pressure following the saga that developed with Arsenal at the end of last campaign.
The 59-year-old struggled to understand fan reactions in May when some suggested they wanted to lose to Manchester City to prevent the Gunners from winning the title.
Despite the Australian's mentality, they lost 2-0 that night, but he does not feel any more pressure now due to it.
Postecoglou wants to win every match just as much; the level of pressure does therefore not change. “I don’t feel any more pressure because there was pressure in that game [against City]. I want to win every game. It doesn’t change anything,” he outlined.
Tottenham have not won a North London Derby since May 2022. It means the world to fans of both clubs, but the former Celtic manager continued to reiterate that it is just another match on the calendar.
“I hate to think, I really would hate to think there are players in the dressing room who want to win this game more than any others or prepare differently or try harder in this game than any other. Because that’s not the way forward,” he said.
“We understand the significance of it, because, if we do win, our supporters will be over the moon. I understand that. If we don’t win, they are going to be devastated. If we prepare this game differently than any other, then I’m disappointed because I want to win every time.
“That’s the only way you can be successful. I make no apologies for that. I’m not going to prepare any different for this game than I did against Newcastle or I will against Coventry.
"I want to win all the time and I want our club to win all the time. If you beat your rivals in a big derby game, then everyone gets excited and everyone feels great. But I want more than that. It’s not what I am after.”
A big win needed to restore faith?
In the trivial world of football, rivalries define emotions. Win and fans go away delighted. Lose and it’s the end of the world.
They are the first fixtures fans look towards when the calendar is released during the summer, with the rollercoaster journey they go on – particularly true with Spurs – sometimes causing long-lasting stress.
Although Postecoglou wants his staff and players to treat the North London Derby the same as any other match, he does not ask the fans to do the same. “I have said a million times – fans can feel the way they want to. It’s their club,” he quickly highlighted.
“They can be as happy, as disenchanted, as optimistic or as pessimistic as they want. My role is to try and give them a team that gives them hope, belief and joy. That’s it.
“But I am not going to tell them how to feel. If they want to win this game more than any other game, then good on them. But it’s not me; it’s not who I am.”
The perspective of fans changes regularly, especially after a derby win. With Spurs failing to win a single derby last season against Arsenal, West Ham or Chelsea, it has been suggested that a win on Sunday could restore some faith in the fanbase. But Postecoglou does not care about that narrative.
"If people have lost faith in what we’re doing, I cannot let that be my guide to what we’re doing. My guide is what I see on a daily basis, the way we play our football, the way the team is growing and I’m as optimistic and as bullish as I’ve ever been,” he made clear.
“Is it important to win big games? Absolutely yes, I want to win big games. But we won big games early last season. It doesn’t mean it’s going to get you to where you want to get to. There’s got to be a consistency in approach.
“There’s nothing I’ve seen to make me waver in my belief about what we’re doing. Whether that externally is reflected by people’s faith or belief, there’s only one way to change that... perform and win.”
“I don’t think we’ve been terrible defensively”
Spurs’ defensive fragilities were well-documented last campaign. They suffered whenever they lost the ball – and they only looked like a well-formed group when all four star defenders were fit and ready.
The same concern has spread into the new campaign, with Spurs conceding ‘poor’ goals against Leicester and Newcastle. However, Postecoglou admitted he has not been worried about their defensive performances.
“I don’t think we’ve been terrible defensively so far this year. We’ve conceded three goals and limited the opposition to fairly few chances. We’ve just had a couple of lapses, obviously. It’s the nature of football,” he believes.
“If you’re going to be more attacking, you’re going to have more gaps the other way. I get it, people are going to say: 'We want to be more attacking, but we want to be really solid defensively.' We’re talking about perfection; that doesn’t exist with anyone.
“We are airing on the side of being more attacking and aggressive, which is going to mean we concede more than others. But that’s fine. I’m comfortable. The key is to score more goals than the opposition which we haven’t done so far.”