Reuters

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur must build on their improved Premier League form and target a strong finish to what has been a disappointing season, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Friday.

Either side of successive defeats in the League Cup semi-final and FA Cup fourth round, Tottenham managed back-to-back league wins for only the second time this season.

A 2-0 win at Brentford was followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat of Manchester United and Tottenham can make it three wins in a row when they travel to 18th-placed Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Those two league wins have eased fears that Tottenham could be sucked into the relegation battle, and with the club's injury crisis easing and a less demanding schedule, Postecoglou says the buzz has returned to the training ground.

"Obviously our last two Premier League games, Brentford away and Man United at home, have been two important results for us to kind of try and arrest the form in the league," Postecoglou told reporters. "But you need to keep backing that up.

"Tomorrow's an opportunity to do that. It's not easy when you're playing away from home and in the Premier League, especially against a team that's fighting like Ipswich are.

"But it is an opportunity for us now to get another strong performance, get another positive result, and like I said, hopefully provide a bit of a foundation for us to kick on."

Tottenham finished fourth in the new Europa League format, avoiding being involved in a playoff for the last 16.

Without a midweek game for the last two weeks, Postecoglou said it has been an opportunity for some players to recharge their batteries while others have been able to regain full fitness after coming out of the treatment room.

The Australian also said it was a chance for him to start preparing proper coaching sessions again.

"I think there's two aspects of my role that you love more than most. One is game day and the other one is training," he said. "You kind of get frustrated when you're out there and you can't really do what you want to do as a coach.

"Not just me, but the other coaches as well. You kind of design sessions, but you know guys are going to sort of be walking through things and we're just providing information.

"The last two weeks, the training sessions you walk off and you're pretty excited about what you've seen. You feel good about the session you've put on and the coaches get a buzz out of it, the players get a buzz out of it."

Tottenham's last chance of a trophy this season is in the Europa League in which they have been drawn against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the last 16. The north London club are one of the favourites to win the competition, but Postecoglou said that cannot be a distraction from the Premier League.

"Europe's always been at the forefront of our minds and we did really well, and we saw how important it was that we did finish in the top eight, even finishing in the top four, because it kind of helped us this last two weeks," he said.

"It's important, but we must not be dismissive of the league."

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LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are still two or three weeks away from returning but the club's injury list is slowly improving, says manager Ange Postecoglou.

Romero has been sidelined since December 8 and central defensive partner Van de Ven has featured only twice since October 30 and both will sit out the visit of Manchester United on Sunday.

Injury-plagued Tottenham exited both the League Cup and FA Cup last week and sit 14th in the Premier League.

But goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, out since November, playmaker James Maddison and full back Destiny Udogie have all returned to full training and could feature against United.

The situation with Van de Ven remains frustrating, although Postecoglou is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

He suffered a hamstring injury in October and returned against Chelsea in December only to suffer another setback.

The Dutchman did play against Elfsborg in the Europa League last month but has since been considered too much of a risk.

"I guess with Micky, we decided to take a different strategy with him," Postecoglou told reporters. "We just want to make sure he's absolutely right.

"Talking to different people, he's working with different medical teams and rehab staff to make sure he's right. He's working well and feeling good, which is a positive.

"You always want to protect your assets and he is a major club asset and to protect his long-term career for the sake of a couple of weeks is worth it.

"Similar with (Romero). We're just waiting. The healing in his quad is taking longer than we thought. He's got one more scan to make sure it's healed properly. Once we get that sign off, we should be good to go."

Postecoglou has been under increasing pressure with the club's season lurching from one low to another and on Sunday will be up against United's Ruben Amorim whose own struggles to turn around his side are just as well chronicled.

"I have respect for all managers because I know how tough it is to do the job. Ruben is just doing what he wants to do," Postecoglou said. "Manchester United have scouted him and identified him by looking at the way he does business. You bring him in with a purpose.

"If United stick with Ruben for two years then they will see progress. Absolutely, because it's how long it takes. If anyone believes anything can change in a short space of time, they are living in a alternative universe that is not based on reality."

Tottenham are also without strikers Dominic Solanke and Richarlison and wingers Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner for the visit of United.

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LIVERPOOL, England, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Everton's blistering first-half display secured a 3-2 win over a woeful Tottenham Hotspur side as David Moyes earned his first victory since returning for a second spell as manager at Goodison Park on Sunday, piling more misery on the visitors.

Needing to get back to winning ways after picking up one in their previous 12 league matches, Everton took the game to their troubled opponents, racing into a two-goal lead inside 30 minutes through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye.

Calvert-Lewin's fine finish was the first time his team had scored in a league game since Boxing Day, ending his own 16-match barren run stretching back to September.

Things went from bad to worse for Spurs in first-half stoppage time as young Archie Gray put through his own net to ensure Everton scored as many goals within one half of football as in their previous seven games in all competitions.

Goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison caused the home fans some concern late on but the hosts survived to record a win that moved 16th-placed Everton four points clear of the bottom three and within four of sorry Spurs who are one place higher.

On paper, this encounter looked like the perfect platform for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side to start to turn around their faltering season, which remarkably sees them looking over their shoulders at the drop zone rather than up the table.

Spurs had lost one of their previous 24 games at Goodison Park prior to Sunday's trip north, while they have won more points from Everton than against any other Premier League team.

You would not have thought it was Everton struggling for goals though as Calvert-Lewin twisted and turned the Spurs backline inside out before opening the scoring 13 minutes in.

Ndiaye, one of the few bright attacking sparks for Everton this term, compounded Spurs' misery with another fine finish on the half-hour mark after bamboozling Radu Dragusin as the hosts continued to bombard the beleaguered Antonin Kinsky's goal.

Tottenham's Gray was then unfortunate to put through his own net after James Tarkowski headed the ball back across the area.

The visitors dominated possession after the break and at least gave themselves a chance of getting something from the match after Kulusevski's fine lofted finish before Richarlison, against his former club, slid the ball home in stoppage time.

The close scoreline, however, flattered injury-hit Spurs, whose season continues to lurch from one crisis to the next.

It was Tottenham's 12th Premier League loss this term, making it only the sixth campaign in which they have lost as many as 12 games in their first 22 matches of a league season.

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Jan 17 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Davies, who has been out since last month with a hamstring injury, is set to return in Sunday's visit to Everton, manager Ange Postecoglou said.

However, Timo Werner has a hamstring issue and could be out for a few weeks, while Brennan Johnson and midfielder Yves Bissouma were also dealing with injuries after Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Arsenal, the manager added.

"There's a couple still sore from midweek. Just waiting to see how Brennan Johnson is, he has a bit of a calf complaint," Postecoglou told reporters on Friday.

"Biss is a bit sore. Ben Davies should be involved. Timo has got a hamstring tweak, probably three to four weeks."

Injuries have plagued Spurs, who sit 14th after failing to win any of their last five league matches, throughout the campaign with Postecoglou complaining earlier this month that he had 10 first-team players missing.

Spurs are without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario due to long-term injuries.

The club are trying to sign players in the January transfer window, the manager said.

"I know the club is working hard as they can. January is not easy. I know work is being done behind the scenes to get some players in," he added.

"It is trickier in January because you're trying to acquire players from clubs who might want to replace that player, so a lot of logistics involved."

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Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru Editing by Toby Davis

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LONDON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Struggling Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a 2-2 home draw against a revived Wolverhampton Wanderers side after a late strike by Norwegian substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen in an entertaining Premier League clash on Sunday.

Having suffered four defeats in their previous five league games, injury-hit Spurs were aiming for a convincing performance to take the pressure off manager Ange Postecoglou but it was the visitors under new boss Vitor Pereira who came away the happier.

Wolves had taken the lead after seven minutes through Hwang Hee-Chan who fired a low shot that went in off the post after a short free kick, but Spurs equalised five minutes later when Rodrigo Bentancur's header beat keeper Jose Sa from a corner.

Tottenham spurned the chance to go in front when Son Heung-Min's spot kick was saved but they did go in ahead at the break after Brennan Johnson struck from close range. The second half was an end-to-end affair with Strand Larsen scoring in the 87th.

The result left Spurs languishing in 11th with 24 points from 19 games - the first time they will finish the year lower than seventh since the 2008-09 season. Wolves are 17th on 16 points and stand two points above the relegation zone.

Wolves started brightly and stunned the home supporters when a short free kick was played to South Korean Hwang on the edge of the box and he fired a low shot into the far corner that beat the diving Fraser Forster and went in off the post.

Spurs levelled soon after when Bentancur rose above the defence to send a powerful header past Sa from a Pedro Porro corner on the right much to the relief of Postecoglou.

SON MISSES PENALTY

Tottenham had the chance to take the lead just before halftime when they were awarded a penalty after Andre bundled Johnson over in the area but captain Son's spot kick was brilliantly saved by Portuguese Sa down to his right.

Spurs did go in front in added time at the end of the first half though when Johnson struck from close range after clever footwork inside the area by Dejan Kulusevski who cut the ball back from the right for the Welshman to finish smartly.

Wolves took off the injured Matheus Cunha, who was their most creative player in the opening period, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at the break, and brought on Strand Larsen and Goncalo Guedes as they looked dangerous chasing an equaliser.

Spurs soon made a change themselves as Destiny Udogie hobbled off and was replaced by Sergio Reguilon at left back, bringing more defensive woes for a side hit by injuries, with their first-choice centre backs both missing.

Another Tottenham substitute Timo Werner was soon in the thick of the action and burst down the left before sending over a low cross that Dominic Solanke just failed to connect with.

Spurs continued to press and Kulusevski was played through by Solanke 10 minutes from time, but although his tame effort got past Sa it was cleared by Santiago Bueno.

Wolves also looked dangerous though and snatched a point when Rayan Ait-Nouri played the ball down the left and Strand Larsen turned inside the box before firing a rising shot into the net past the stranded Forster to delight the away fans.

The Midlands side have now taken seven points from their last three games to boost their chances of avoiding the drop.

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NOTTINGHAM, England, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Nottingham Forest continued their challenge for a Premier League top-four spot as Anthony Elanga's first-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur to put them third on Thursday.

Elanga completed a superb Forest counter-attack in the 28th minute to settle a contest that Tottenham ended with 10 men after former Forest player Djed Spence was sent off.

The result moved Forest provisionally up to third with 34 points, while Tottenham's fourth defeat in five Premier League games left them in 11th with 23 points after 18 games.

Tottenham had edged the opening exchanges with former Forest winger Brennan Johnson going close for the visitors but the hosts struck in devastating fashion.

When Tottenham lost possession on the edge of the Forest area, the ball was played to Morgan Gibbs-White who split the visiting defence with a superb pass and Elanga beat goalkeeper Fraser Forster with a deft finish.

It was enough for Forest to win a fourth successive top-flight game for the first time since 1995 and was especially sweet for manager Nuno Espirito Santo who was sacked by Tottenham three years ago.

Under the Portuguese coach, Forest have been transformed from a side battling to retain their top-flight status, to one that now seems capable of bringing European football back to the City Ground. They now have more points already this season than they finished up with last season in coming 17th.

"It's beautiful for us to go out in the city and enjoy this moment," Espirito-Santo said. "The belief is here but the belief doesn't hide the reality.

"The reality says we haven't achieved nothing yet and we have two days to recover and rest and compete against Everton. This is the reality. We believe we can compete as long as everybody understands every player in the squad is huge for us."

Tottenham are now 11 points behind Forest and pressure is sure to mount on manager Ange Postecoglou whose post-match press conference lasted barely two minutes.

"I still thought we had a fair chunk of (the game) where we could have got something out of the game, but it was always going to be a tight game here," the Australian said.

His side had chances before the break with Matz Sels twice denying Johnson and Son Heung-min hitting the side-netting with a free kick shortly before the interval.

Tottenham had 70% possession but were toothless after the break and their frustration was summed up when Spence was shown a second yellow card deep in stoppage time.

He will now be ruled out of Tottenham's home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend.

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LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Liverpool strengthened their hold on the Premier League top spot with an extraordinary 6-3 victory at battered Tottenham Hotspur after second-placed Chelsea were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away to Everton on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah scored twice, as did Luis Diaz, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were also on target at bamboozled Spurs for Dutchman Arne Slot's Liverpool side who head into Christmas four points clear.

Chelsea could have gone into first place before Liverpool's clash in north London but failed to make it nine straight wins in all competitions as Everton dug deep to earn a point at Goodison Park.

Liverpool have 39 points from 16 games with Chelsea on 35 having played a game more. Arsenal, who won 5-1 at Crystal Palace on Saturday, have 33 points from 17 games.

Bottom club Southampton's 0-0 draw at Fulham on Sunday means reigning champions Manchester City are now the worst performing Premier League team since the start of November after a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday left them down in seventh.

Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth on Sunday as the south coast club moved up to fifth, while Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3-0 at Leicester City in Vitor Pereira's first game in charge.

RAINING GOALS

Tottenham's last three home games in all competitions have now provided 23 goals as their wide-open style was ruthlessly punished by a razor-sharp Liverpool.

Diaz met Trent Alexander-Arnold's beautiful cross with a diving header to open the scoring before Alexis Mac Allister nodded home from close range to double Liverpool's lead.

James Maddison pulled one back for Spurs in the 41st minute but Dominik Szoboszlai restored the visitors' two-goal lead before the break as he slotted past Fraser Forster following a counter-attack.

Salah's double came in seven second-half minutes to take his league tally this season to 15 before Tottenham hit back with Dejan Kulusevski's volley and Dominic Solanke's effort in the 83rd that threatened to set up a frantic finale. But Diaz settled any Liverpool jitters with his second goal of the game.

Liverpool's emphatic win means only one of the weekend's Premier League games ended in a home victory.

"We expected that (a chaotic game), the way they play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game," Salah, whose two assists took his total for the season to 11, told Sky Sports.

Salah is the first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.

MARESCA HAPPY

The closest Chelsea came to piercing Everton's armour was a Nicolas Jackson shot against the post in the first half but while it proved a frustrating day for Enzo Maresca's side the Italian remained upbeat.

"That was a real game," he said. "I'm very happy because the performance of the boys was fantastic. Sometimes you have to play a different game and we're learning to play a different game. Everton are one of the best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets."

The Toffees kept a fifth clean sheet in six games.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said "nothing bad lasts forever" after his side's 3-0 drubbing at Old Trafford, a defeat that came three days after they were beaten 4-3 at Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup quarter-finals.

"We just need to work on the way we play, that's all," the Portuguese, whose side are in 13th place, said. "Focus on the job in the moment, not what you feel in the stadium."

Goals by Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo put high-flying Bournemouth into the Europa League qualifying spot and means United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the table for the first time in Premier League history.

Wolves moved up a place to 18th, two points short of the safety zone, with Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha all on target against Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester -- the perfect start for Pereira.

"I believe that we will stay in the Premier League and we will play at a better level than we saw today. Today I am happy as the team showed spirit and the spirit that Wolves supporters want to see," said the Portuguese, who replaced Gary O'Neil.

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Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris