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Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou has a zen-like message for the club's critics: "Take a deep breath and do some yoga."

Despite a tumultuous week marked by defeat to Arsenal and a narrow Carabao Cup victory over Coventry, which sparked fan unrest, the 59-year-old is unfazed, claiming such noise doesn't affect his quest for Spurs' success.

Postecoglou remains resolute in his approach, stating that he has become adept at tuning out what he sees as a "massive distraction" from his goals.

"I have always been pretty good at staying clear-eyed and focused about what is important," he remarked ahead of Spurs' clash with Brentford.

He believes that regardless of whether the external criticism is justified, it's crucial not to let it derail his vision for the team.

"I learned along the way whether things are going well or not going well not to let that external noise distract me from what I believe needs to be done," he added.

Postecoglou is determined to stay on course:"Nothing will take me away from what I think needs to be done. I won't let it enter my space."

Despite the high stakes of managing in the Premier League, he reflects that his most challenging role was his first at South Melbourne, where failure could have ended his career before it even began.

The Australian coach also insists he won't alter his approach despite facing criticism, stating he has always "enjoyed the struggle and the difficult bits".

He added: "This is no different to anything else I've ever done. It's exactly the same process. For me it is about doing what is the right thing in my eyes to get success and hopefully change the fortunes of this fantastic football club.

"The tenure of managers and the patience with anything has exponentially shortened with the expansion of so many platforms of people in one way or another trying to rush to judgement and make calls on things.

"If I was a young manager today I suspect I would deal with it differently. I would probably be thinking short-term with everything I do so I could get a career for myself."

Yves Bissouma returned to training on Friday following a calf injury and is available for selection against Brentford. However, young winger Wilson Odobert faces a significant period on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury at Coventry.

Former Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso enjoyed a dream Real Betis comeback, netting a superb brace for the La Liga outfit. Snapped up by Betis for just £4million before the transfer deadline, the Argentinian, 28, penned a three-year deal with an option to extend.

On Wednesday, he dazzled fans by striking twice in the second half to seal a 2-0 victory over Getafe, his first start for the club in over five years. Meanwhile, Tottenham, who are still licking their wounds following their north London derby defeat to Arsenal, managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Coventry in the Carabao Cup.

After the match, Lo Celso couldn't hide his elation, telling reporters: "I'm happy with the win, it was important to get three points against a tough opponent.

"It was a very big relief, we ended up suffering a little more than necessary, but we added three points that put us up there. This is the way to go."

His move from Betis to Tottenham in 2018, initially on loan before a £27m permanent transfer, came with high expectations. Sections of the Spanish media even tipped Lo Celso as Lionel Messi's potential successor at Barcelona after the football icon's unexpected exit in 2021.

Lo Celso was even hailed by Messi himself as the finest midfielder Argentina had to offer at the time. However, he ultimately didn't fit into Ange Postecoglou's plans at Spurs, although he insisted enjoyed playing under the Australian for a spell last season.

After playing a bigger role in late autumn, Lo Celso said: "I was really grateful for his belief in me, so I worked hard and showed every day that I wanted to be here and play.

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"I've felt really comfortable in training and in the way he coaches. I love his idea of football which gave me the belief that I could find a place in his team. The coaching staff have helped as well as my teammates.

"It's a personal challenge for my career, but the coach's plan and philosophy is helping me improve my game because he asks me and wants me to do specific things in my role. Things have been going great. He's made me feel very confident and comfortable since he joined."

Despite that praise, Lo Celso's 2023/24 season saw just 24 appearances, with numerous brief cameos off the bench. That lack of sustained involvement and clarity about his future seemingly contributed to his departure.

Despite fluctuating fortunes at club level, Lo Celso has had a key role in the Argentine national side for seven years, amassing 59 appearances and contributing significantly to their back-to-back Copa America victories in 2021 and 2024. He missed his country's World Cup triumph in Qatar because of injury.

Ange Postecoglou is tipping Brennan Johnson to become a “significant contributor” to his grand design at Tottenham - if he can survive a difficult spell.

Johnson’s stoppage-time winner fired Spurs into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup at Coventry on Wednesday night.

But his celebrations were muted after online trolls forced him to deactivate his Instagram account 48 hours earlier following vulgar social media criticism of his performance in the north London derby defeat by Arsenal.

Two last-gasp goals at the CBS Arena spared head coach Postecoglou’s blushes after his gamble in making eight changes almost backfired.

And the Spurs boss acknowledged £47.5 million Johnson’s bitter-sweet week afterwards, saying: "With Brennan, he comes in, works hard at his game and when you're an attacking player, you're always kind of getting measured against certain things.

"If he can get through this period and just be positive and and play like he can, he can be a significant contributor to us and credit to him. He got a good goal.”

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Johnson’s late winner and fellow substitute Djed Spence’s equaliser were isolated shafts of encouragement for Postecoglou at Coventry, where the £20m defender finally opened his account for the club more than two years after leaving Middlesbrough.

Spence, 24, said: ““It meant a lot. It was a good feeling - especially to get the team back in the game and then the win.

“I’m happy to be in the manager’s plans, keep moving forward with the team and hopefully we can keep winning.

“I’ve just got to stay ready and be ready for whenever I’m called upon.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has expressed his belief that Brennan Johnson can become a "significant contributor" for his side if he can overcome a challenging period.

Johnson scored a last-minute winner in the Carabao Cup against Coventry, sealing Spurs' spot in the last-16, although his celebrations were subdued.

The £47.5million attacker had received online abuse following his performance against Arsenal on Sunday, leading him to deactivate his Instagram account. Postecoglou defended Johnson and reiterated his support for the player.

He said: "With Brennan, you know I spoke about it (Tuesday) that he comes in, works hard at his game and when you're an attacking player, you're always kind of getting measured against certain things.

"I said, if he can get through this period and just be positive and and play like he can, he can be a significant contributor to us and credit to him. He got a good goal."

Johnson's goal and Djed Spence's impressive second-half appearance were among the few highlights for Spurs in their 2-1 victory. However, attackers Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner both suffered suspected muscle injuries, adding to Postecoglou's concerns.

The Spurs boss commented: "Wilson looked fairly significant, so we'll just wait and see. Timo, again not really sure if it was just fatigue but yeah, a bit unfortunate for both of those. Obviously, both play in a similar position as well."

Tottenham's injury woes could possibly pave the way for young star Mikey Moore to get his chance against Brentford.

After a tough start to the season, Spurs will be desperate to avoid another slip-up following their nail-biting Carabao Cup triumph which has somewhat pacified the rising unease amongst fans.

"The way they play is a really good way of playing, which will bring them good results, but that's the nature of where we are in life really. People want everything yesterday and it's ridiculous really."

Late goals by Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson helped Tottenham avoid an almighty upset at Coventry in the Carabao Cup.

Spurs were set to follow up Sunday's painful derby defeat to Arsenal with a 1-0 loss in the third round after Brandon Thomas-Asante fired the Championship side into a deserved lead after 63 minutes.

Moments earlier, Ange Postecoglou's decision to substitute Lucas Bergvall had been met with boos from the away end.

However, with time running out and Postecoglou's bold prediction last weekend of always winning silverware in his second season being set to come back to bite him, Djed Spence found an equaliser with three minutes left.

Tottenham new boy Wilson Odobert was forced off with an injury in the early stages of their Carabao Cup game at Coventry City. The 19-year-old winger only joined Spurs from Burnley over the summer but already looks to be facing a spell on the sidelines.

Odobert was named in the starting line-up against Coventry but only lasted 17 minutes before picking up an injury. He tried to play through the pain but it quickly became apparent that he could not continue, with Brennan Johnson coming on to replace him.

It remains to be seen if Odobert will be ruled out for any length of time after seeing his latest appearance for Spurs cut short. The Frenchman had a worried look on his face as he was helped off the pitch by a member of Tottenham's medical team.

Odobert joined Tottenham on a five-year deal in August, with the north Londoners paying around £25million for his signature. In his only season at Burnley, he made 34 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring five goals.

It will be a blow for Ange Postecoglou if Odobert's injury turns out to be a bad one, with the Aussie singling him out for special praise after Tottenham's big win over Everton last month.

"I was excited by the way he went about things," said Postecoglou. "He's different from our other wingers. He always wants to take his opponent on. Even if he hasn't been successful, he goes at him again.

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"[He was] playing for his new club in front of 60,000 people and he just played football the way he wants to play it and I love that about him. He got tired in the second half but it’s really exciting for us that another young player comes in that is going to make us a better team."

Tottenham have already been forced to deal with a few injury problems in the first few weeks of the new campaign. Richarlison is currently sidelined with an injury he picked up in training before their defeat at Newcastle earlier this month.

Yves Bissouma is also unavailable due to a groin issue and was forced to miss the game against Arsenal over the weekend. He is said to be closing in on a return to action and could be involved in some capacity when Spurs host Brentford on Saturday.

Ange Postecoglou has responded after Cristian Romero reshared a social media post criticising Tottenham in the wake of their defeat to Arsenal. Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal of the game as Tottenham slumped to a third straight home defeat at the hands of their greatest rivals.

After the final whistle, Romero reshared a post on social media which suggested he was forced to organise his own travel back from international duty before quickly deleting it. The post, written by Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, read: "Tottenham lost to Arsenal again.

"Tottenham has not yet consolidated its position to fight because it is not in the details. It was the only club in the Premier League which sent players back from international duty on their own and without their own logistics by decisions of its leaders.

"It gave an advantage [to Arsenal] because its players arrived with less rest than others. Cuti Romero played with a fever."

Postecoglou was quizzed on Romero's social media conduct on Tuesday and said that no concerns about travel were raised by any of his players before the match.

"It was mentioned to me [after the game] but it wasn't mentioned to me before the game," said the Aussie. "All the players were back by Thursday for a Sunday game. Prior to the game there was nothing mentioned."

Postecoglou also spoke about the comments he made in his post-match interview, which raised a few eyebrows. He doubled down on his belief that he will end Tottenham's trophy drought, insisting that he always wins in his second season managing a club.

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Asked to expand on those comments, the 59-year-old replied: "It's amazing. I just stated a fact. Should I lie? I am not sure how I am supposed to answer something which is true and it seems like I upset some people for some reason.

"Is it me boasting? How am I supposed to answer something? You could say they are those competitions, or are easy or something, but it is true and I am not sure why people think I am boasting about it.

"It is true and my plan is for it to happen this year. If it doesn’t happen, then I will say it is mostly, but not always."

Guglielmo Vicario has called for Tottenham to stick together and promised to improve their set-piece defending after a painful home defeat to Arsenal.

The Gunners secured bragging rights on Sunday after defender Gabriel headed in the only goal from Bukayo Saka's 64th-minute corner.

Set-piece woe was a recurring theme during the second half of Ange Postecoglou's debut campaign and while Tottenham have been more solid from them this season, Vicario promised they would fix the issue.

Vicario said: "It is tough to find a solution. It's a good delivery. Maybe Gabriel is a little bit just free to head the ball and put it down in the net. We will look, we will look."

"Of course in our meeting we will analyse, try to fix it and try to do better. It is tough because in this case small details can change the result and the outcome of the games."

"We have a brilliant coach, brilliant staff that can help us so we just need to stay together and believe in our football because we played such good games until now."

"(This) is a big defeat, we take the responsibility for that and now we have to prepare our best level for the next two games."

Spurs will have little time to lick their wounds with a Carabao Cup clash at Coventry on Wednesday before Brentford visit on Saturday.

Sunday's narrow loss to Arsenal proved to be a familiar tale with Tottenham able to dominate possession, but unable to fashion enough clear-cut chances as they dropped points for a third time this term.

"It hurts a lot," Vicario told SpursPlay.

"This (derby) is special for our crowd and we know this. Now we have to take the pain and disappointment, but football gives you every time another opportunity."

"Sometimes the performances doesn't reflect your effort and how you play. For that we just have to stick together because our moment will come because our football is good."

"Maybe we lost a bit, after they scored, of composure and mindset to stay who we are on the pitch, but we will fix it and take the rewards in the future."

"If we stick together, play this football with our focus, I think we will have a lot of victories this season."

Those sentiments were echoed by Postecoglou, who added: "We are a team that is progressing in many areas. With all that progress, there are always new challenges and things you need to overcome."

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"When I look at the four games in isolation this year, the football is probably more consistent and compelling than our first four games last year but obviously our results don't reflect that."

"There are other areas we need to improve on and that's my job to fill those gaps as quickly as possible."

Arsenal claimed victory without captain Martin Odegaard, but Mikel Arteta remained coy over his fitness before Thursday's Champions League trip to Atalanta.

"Regarding Martin, we still have to wait and see. The news is that he wasn't available today," said Arteta.

Dominic Solanke has had plenty of world-class teammates but has revealed that the best finisher he has seen is a no-brainer. The striker became a club-record signing for Tottenham Hotspur this summer but is used to high-profile pressure, having previously played for Chelsea and Liverpool.

The 27-year-old was a wonderkid during his time in Chelsea’s academy and was tipped for superstardom by Jose Mourinho a decade ago. Solanke made just one appearance for the Blues before joining Liverpool at the end of his contract in 2017, featuring 27 times for Jurgen Klopp’s side but scoring only once in his sole season at Anfield.

It took Solanke a while to truly showcase his talent at Bournemouth but he had an ideal grounding, being on the fringes at Premier League champions Chelsea and learning from Champions League finalists Liverpool. The England international has trained with plenty of elite stars - but believes Harry Kane is better than all of his former teammates.

Asked about the best finisher he had seen, Solanke told Sky Sports: “Obviously Harry Kane. His finishing is just one of the best-ever. We see that all the time and his finishing is just incredible.”

That is a huge compliment to the England captain, given that Solanke was teammates with Mohmed Salah and the rest of Liverpool’s formidable forward line. During his time with Chelsea, Solanke also regularly watched Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba, and Diego Costa put through their paces at Cobham.

Solanke will hope to be the striker that can inspire Ange Postecoglou’s side to win an elusive trophy, as well as replicating a degree of the success that Kane achieved in a Spurs shirt, with the England captain scoring 280 goals in 435 games. While one-time England international Solanke will hope to link up with the Three Lions skipper in the future, the forward has been bowled over by Son Heung-min’s levels in training.

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“It’s something so rare to be that good on right foot and left foot, not many players in the world can do that,” Solanke explained. “To be that two-footed and be great at finishing with both of them is incredible. He’s a great leader, one of the nicest guys I’ve met, to be honest. On the pitch, you see what he does on the weekends and it’s exactly the same in training.”

At the other end of the pitch, Solanke named his former Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk as the toughest defender he has faced in his career. The forward was prolific for Bournemouth last term, netting 19 league goals, and daily battles with the Liverpool skipper would have helped a young Solanke hone his skills.

“He’s just got everything, big, strong, good on the ball, agressive,” Solanke added. “I think he’s definitely one of the best defenders in our time and I’d say he’s probably the most difficult.”

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has suggested Arsenal could’ve been given a penalty during their feisty north London derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Mikel Arteta became the first Arsenal manager ever to win three consecutive derbies away to Spurs in the Premier League - something legendary boss Arsene Wenger didn’t even manage.

But the match wasn’t without its drama. Arsenal might’ve been reduced to 10 men during the first half, after Jurrien Timber was involved in an altercation with Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

He was spotted grabbing Vicario’s shirt after the Argentine had sprinted from his goal to confront the Arsenal man which earned the Spurs shot-stopper a yellow card.

Timber, according to some, was lucky not to have been given a second yellow, having been booked for a crunching tackle on Pedro Porro just moments before.

The contentious talking points continued into the second half, specifically surrounding Arsenal’s opening goal, with claims Cristian Romero had been fouled for Gabriel’s header.

However, speaking to Sky Sport News’ Referee Watch, former official Gallagher rubbished such claims, instead pointing out Arsenal could’ve been given a penalty of their own.

When asked if the goal should’ve stood, he said: “I think yes, I think it’s a physical game and the referee lets a little bit go – interesting, if you think that’s a foul then there’s certainly a foul by the defender on the line.

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“I think it’s Romero who grabs someone round the waist which is more of a foul. So I think the referee has got that right.”

Fellow pundit Sue Smith was next to chime in, adding: “No I don’t think there’s enough in it [to rule it out], I think when you look at Romero, his body position, it has to be better.

“He’s facing the other way to Gabriel, there’s always going to be a slight physical contact in the area, I don’t think there’s enough of a push. I don’t think that should have been ruled out.”

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Manager Ange Postecoglou was inclined to agree with Smith’s sentiment, commenting on his side’s set-piece frailties by saying: "You know that they're a threat. As I said, for the most part we handled them really well today, but we switched off in one and we paid a price. You learn from that and you move on.

"It is what it is. It's my burden to carry and I'm happy to do that. Like I've always said, for me there's a bigger picture that's at play here that's much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to.”

It’s a swift return to action for Spurs, who are involved in League Cup action against Coventry City on Wednesday night, while Arsenal are in Champions League action against Atalanta on Thursday.