Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario admits that supporters of the club have the right to vent their anger at some of the performances the side has churned out this season, following a run-in with away fans after the 1-0 defeat in the Netherlands on Thursday night.
AZ will take a deserved 1-0 lead to north London for next Thursday’s last-16 Europa League decider after Lucas Bergvall’s freak own goal earned them a first win over English opposition in 13 attempts.
Ange Postecoglou’s side failed to muster a single shot on target in what was one of their worst performances of the season in one of the biggest games, with Vicario needing to be at his best to keep the score down to just one.
The Italian went across to the away Tottenham support after the final whistle, waving his arms in trying to rally more support but ended up being met by an angry response.
That exchange left Vicario looking frustrated, but he admits that the fans have the right to be critical, saying: “They can do [that]. They have to be, they must be disappointed for the game we played but we still have another game to play against AZ at our place, so it’s the moment to stick together now because we can go through this round.
“I can [understand] the disappointment for the night because we didn’t play our football. So I can understand the frustration of the fans. But we still have a lot to play for, especially in the second leg.
“It’s just a way of trying to stay together because we have the opportunity to go through to the next round.
“Of course we need them every game, home and away. We know they are very important for us and now is a big moment of the season and with them we can play with one more man on the pitch so it’s so important.
“I can really understand the disappointment they had because we didn’t show our level of football. It’s disappointing for us but we have to analyse and forget, and be ready for the next round.
“The performance is nowhere near the level we should have played this game. We know, it’s frustrating.
“The result of course is not great. But we have to play the second leg, so it’s on us. Now we have to analyse but also forget straight away this game. We have a big game on Sunday and ready for the second leg next Thursday.”
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Ferdinand criticises Postecoglou pitch excuse
Meanwhile, former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand was critical of Postecoglou’s post-match comments, in which he stated that a ‘tricky pitch’ was part of the reason for his side’s woeful performance.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Ferdinand said: “I wish he hadn’t said that. We’re not there, so I don’t know what the pitch is like. They [AZ] seemed to play alright on it, they seemed ok on it.
“He said before the game, we want to be aggressive, we want to be in their faces, and we saw none of that. He alluded to it, he said we weren’t good enough.
“I’m not sure I would blame the pitch for the problems that Spurs had.”
Tottenham are back in action this Sunday when they host high-flying Bournemouth in the Premier League.
There is a strong chance that Postecoglou will freshen up his side for that game, with first-choice centre-back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both fit and available for selection.
The Spurs boss could also try a new combination in midfield, given that Rodrigo Bentancur is now banned for the second leg of the European tie.
While the Uruguayan is likely to retain his place in the side for Sunday, the return of Romero and Van de Ven means Archie Gray could push into his more natural midfield role – giving Tottenham some much-needed protection in front of their often exposed back line.
Postecoglou will also be hoping that Dominic Solanke recovers from the knock he suffered on his comeback in a bid to face his former side.
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