Daily Mail

Tottenham’s form is, without dispute, relegation form. They have been collecting points at an average below 0.5 per game for two months.

Carry on at that rate over the final 15 games of the Premier League season and they will barely break 30 points, which would have been enough to survive last season but usually isn’t.

They appear trapped in what clever clogs former Spurs head coach Andre Villas-Boas liked to call a negative downward spiral and fear of the inconceivable is starting to take a grip on their long-suffering supporters.

‘You’re going to f***ing take us down,’ one fan screamed at Ange Postecoglou as he trudged down the tunnel after Sunday’s defeat at home by Leicester.

‘We’re going down with you, we’re going to be in the Championship like this’, it went on, prompting Postecoglou to perform an amusing rewind manoeuvre as if he might be up for a confrontation, before quickly realising that the better option was to make himself scarce.

It was all caught on camera and shared on social media where a vocal minority can distort the truth, but there can be no denying faith in the Big Ange project has taken a battering this season. It cannot help that they have not won a league game in front of their own supporters for getting on for three months, losing five and drawing two at home since then.

Even those among the large section still vaguely with him, who adore him for the sporting principles he represents and his desire to play with adventure, to entertain and resist the maddening affectations of modern football, are beginning to dread where this might end.

Those who accept that an injury crisis depriving him regularly of more than 10 first-team players, including the two central defenders upon which so much of the system hinges, and limiting his solutions are finding sympathy giving way to concern.

Tottenham supporters are no longer looking up the Premier League table and wondering if they can scramble for the European places.

They are glancing down at Everton on the mend under David Moyes and Wolves improving under Vitor Pereira and Leicester no longer plummeting like a stone under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

They are fretting at the fixture list, wondering where the points might come from. Currently, eight of them separate Spurs from the drop zone and a first relegation for 48 years, since the inaugural season of red and yellow cards, and goal difference as a tiebreaker, in English football.

They are bracing for a relegation fight while nervously eyeing their callow and weary team drained of confidence and mental energy, and with none of gnarly knowhow you need to win such a scrap.

And they are conscious that in this wretched form of one point from their last seven matches, this is certainly not a team too good to go down.

Everything will change with the injured players back. That was Postecoglou’s message of hope after the Leicester defeat and has been at regular intervals over recent weeks.

With Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in the heart of defence, the team can go back to playing the way they play at their best and everything will click back into place.

Tottenham have won twice against both Manchester City and Manchester United this season and are one of only two teams to have beaten Arne Slot's Liverpool.

They are still in all competitions. Well placed in the Europa League going into the last game of the league phase at home to the seventh best team in Sweden, Elfsborg, on Thursday. A goal up at halfway in a Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Through to face Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round.

Postecoglou has promised a trophy this season and that is what so many supporters crave. The club built an illustrious reputation on hauling silver, and yet have only two League Cup wins to show for the last 34 years of toil.

If they can somehow avoid defeat at Anfield and win at Villa Park, Spurs could be here in a fortnight staring down a Wembley final and heading for the last 16 of the FA Cup and the Europa League, a prize with a ticket into next season’s Champions League.

Alternative scenarios are available though and, let’s face it, more probable.

For every player returning to training there seems to be a new injury problem and Postecoglou is haunted by the memory of what happened against Chelsea in early December.

That was the game when Van de Ven and Romero rushed back from injury. Van de Ven had missed the previous five in the Premier League. Romero had missed three.

Then Ben Davies had pulled a hamstring muscle in a defeat at Bournemouth to leave them short in central defence, so they both started against Chelsea. It was terrific pre-match tonic for fans when the team sheets landed but did not look so clever when Romero limped off inside 15 minutes and Van de Ven after 79. Chelsea ran out 4-3 winners.

Neither centre back has played since and Postecoglou needs them because his tactical strategy relies heavily upon their ability to control an aggressive defensive line. Not only do they – and Van de Ven in particular – have recovery pace but they also have an instinct to step into midfield, either with the ball or to support the high press to win possession.

The loss of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who broke an ankle against City in November, amplified this because he is more comfortable sweeping outside his penalty area than any of his deputies.

The upshot is that the defensive line inches back when under pressure and the overall mindset becomes more cautionary, which is anathema to Spurs' manager.

This is the reason Postecoglou tries to fight fire with fire. It looks stubborn but it is not a random fetish of an excitable coach hooked on thrills.

He wants to squeeze opponents into their half of the pitch and play there. But it demands a high defensive line, recovery pace and incredible levels of energy to do it effectively.

All of which have been taken from him. Without Vicario and with Davies, Radu Dragusin or 18-year-old Archie Gray at the back, the defence slides deeper and the nature of the team becomes more cautionary, and that leaves three midfielders with a bigger area to patrol.

It’s a reason he has come to rely so heavily on Pape Matar Sarr’s mileage at the expense of more creative midfielders, and wanted him to start the 2-1 defeat by Leicester on Sunday even though he wasn’t really fit.

Without Sarr in Hoffenheim and in the second half against Leicester, Spurs lose any resistance in midfield and are particularly exposed in the space behind right back Pedro Porro.

Energy levels have been drained by the same small core of fit players, trying to play on to carry the team through a congested winter schedule.

The visit of Elfsborg on Thursday will be Spurs' 17th game since the start of December. Captain Son Heung-min has been subdued and Dejan Kulusevski, who has been immense this season, is fading a little.

Postecoglou has tweaked here and there in search of another balance but on rare occasions when he has made changes to his usual 4-3-3 shape – notably at home against Newcastle when he started in a 4-2-3-1 shape and at Everton when he went 3-4-3 – it has been even worse. And when he reverted to 4-3-3 in both those games, they improved.

So that’s where Tottenham are. Hardwired after 18 months of Postecoglou to play his way and no other way, but currently without the depth of personnel to do it to the standards required for the entire 90-plus minutes in elite competition.

And this prompts certain other questions for the silent executives responsible for the broader football plan: chairman Daniel Levy, chief football officer Scott Munn and technical director Johan Lange.

Was Postecoglou the right appointment? Is his style viable in an elite league where the best teams will outspend on players? It is a big one, at the heart of the usual trophies-versus-style debate.

Nobody was in any doubt this time last year that he had restored identity. The football was exhilarating with more wins than losses, although injuries were already sparking doubts that his high-octane football and demands in training could be part of the problem now undermining him.

Has he been properly backed to build the squad he wants? That’s the thorny one at Spurs because it hinges on Levy’s perceived commitment to sporting success versus profit.

The chairman will back his head coaches in the transfer market to a point, and so there’s £65million on Dominic Solanke last year in tandem with a strategy to spend about £100m on highly desirable but unfinished articles such as Dragusin, Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert.

It is hard to imagine this was Postecoglou’s idea. Nobody in a job where instant results are demanded is signing up with enthusiasm to something that will take a couple of years, maybe more, to mature.

The squad was light going into the season and has hardly been strengthened this month. Desperate for reinforcements, they delivered 21-year-old Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague for £12.5m with impressive speed to ease a goalkeeping crisis, and he has coped well despite a couple of wobbles at Arsenal in his second appearance.

Three weeks on, there have been no other signings. Postecoglou has stressed his team ‘needs help’ and would be ‘playing with fire’ if they fail to strengthen the squad.

If Tottenham are committed to trusting Lange’s talent identification data and the deal-making contacts of Fabio Paratici (the former sporting director and residual presence despite a FIFA ban), and reluctant to be distracted by costly short-term solutions in the transfer market, they will have to hold their nerve, shut out the noise and be patient. The signs are that this is what they intend to do.

Consider the alternatives. Let the backroom staff have a go under Matt Wells or Ryan Mason? This backfired after Jose Mourinho was sacked before the 2021 Carabao Cup final to allow Mason to take on that enormous task, and following Antonio Conte’s exit with Cristian Stellini and then Mason in 2023. It would invite further ridicule of Levy.

Appoint a firefighter? As above, and it only perpetuates the wild cycle of hiring and firing that they are purportedly trying to escape.

Find a credible full-time replacement now? Niko Kovac, formerly of Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt among others, is admired and available but looks destined for Borussia Dortmund.

They have missed out on Graham Potter, and if he lacked the star quality to appease Spurs fans, then most of those who will are settled and under contract and therefore require a concerted effort (not to mention a sizeable fee) to extract.

If Levy and Co think they made a mistake with Postecoglou then the summer is the time to rectify it, by which time they will know if he has been able to deliver the second-season trophy he always wins.

Romero is close to returning and Van de Ven should be back training this week. They are, in Postecoglou’s words, the ‘next cabs off the rank’ and he will pray their return proves the catalyst for revival.

If not or if they cannot stay fit again, it really does not bode well for a team in relegation form with a toxic mood building inside the stadium. And it certainly does not bode well for Postecoglou.

Aston Villa are in discussions over a deal for a former Tottenham player

Villa manager Unai Emery has worked with the defender previously

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Aston Villa are in talks over Villarreal's former Spurs defender Juan Foyth.

Manager Unai Emery confirmed: ‘I know Juan Foyth because I worked with him. He is one player, with his quality, he can unite and play with the qualities and the performance we want to add in the squad.’

Emery previously worked with Foyth at Villarreal, where they won the Europa League together in 2021.

After starting his career at Estudiantes, Foyth signed for Tottenham in 2017.

He made 32 appearances for Tottenham but wasn't able to fully establish himself in the team, with injuries not helping his cause.

A loan move to Villarreal followed before Foyth made the switch permanently in 2021.

He has been capped by Argentina on 18 occasions but hasn't featured for his country since 2018.

Villa have already been active during the January transfer window, with forward Donyell Malen joining from Borussia Dortmund, while defender Andres Garcia arrived from Levante.

Meanwhile, Diego Carlos joined Fenerbahce, with Jaden Philogene leaving for Ipswich.

Villa, who are in eighth place in the Premier League, drew 1-1 at home to West Ham on Sunday. Jacob Ramsey put Villa in front early on but Emerson equalised for the visitors.

Ange Postecoglou admitted Tottenham were as low as they have been during his time in charge and that he did not know if he would be given the time to salvage the season.

A crushing home defeat by relegation-threatened Leicester extended a dismal run of form for his depleted Spurs team to just five points from their last 11 games in the Premier League.

They are 15th, but alive in three cups with key players back soon from injuries. He insisted the campaign could still be transformed into a success and that the players were behind him.

But when asked if he expected to be given time to turn it around, Posteocglou said: 'Who knows, I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no.

'When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that.

'I can even see in training when the guys coming back are going to give everybody a lift. There is a fantastic opportunity this season to really make an impact, and I know we can. But in terms of the question, is there anything I can say about that that is going to change anything that I need to do tomorrow morning? Nothing.'

Postecoglou’s squad has been ravaged by injuries through a congested winter schedule. James Maddison was absent against Leicester, Richarlison was forced off with a problem and Pape Matar Sarr played despite injury.

Daniel Levy, conscious of the circumstances, has resisted any urge to sack another manager. Fans booed Postecoglou’s decision to take off Richarlison early in the second half but they turned their anger mostly on Levy during the 2-1 defeat.

'Certainly, something I wanted to try and do when I took this role was to unify the club and create an environment here where we are all focused on the one thing,' said Postecoglou. 'Obviously it hasn’t worked out that way.

'It’s understandable, the fans are not happy with our current situation. It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home to create an atmosphere. It wasn’t that long ago we played Liverpool here and it was a great night.'

That was the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final. Tottenham lead 1-0 with the second leg at Anfield on Thursday week. Before then are a Europa League tie at home to Elfsborg and a tricky trip across London to Brentford on Sunday.

Postecoglou said: 'I have felt all along that the players are still very committed to what we’re doing. That’s important to me, because I firmly believe in it, and I really believe that this is as low as we’ve been so far this year but I still think that in these last three months we can do something really special and these players believe that. Right now it’s very hard to visualise that.

'It doesn’t really come into my consciousness about trying to convince people. I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. It’s not good enough.

'If people want to put context to that they can, if not so be it. From my point of view, I’m still very much stuck on the fact that the players are just giving everything they can. They did on Thursday night, they did today.'

Richarlison headed home the opener for Spurs in the 33rd minute

Goals from James Vardy and Bilal El Khannous staged an impressive comeback

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With every tiny glimmer of hope, be it progress in one of the cups or someone returning from injury there comes a result in the Premier League to deepen the gloom for Ange Postecoglou.

Last time, a miserable defeat at Everton against a team who had forgotten how to score. Now this. Beaten at home by a team who had forgotten how to win. Or even draw.

After the win at Hoffenheim, hope destroyed once again and the home crowd turning on chairman Daniel Levy with strong boos at the final whistle, choruses of protest songs building through the second half and a banner held up at the end as the stadium emptied demanding change.

From the Spurs angle there is no way to sugar coat it. This result was simply awful even in the context all the injuries and unavailable players. Despite low energy tanks and depleted confidence. The young players are giving their all but it is not amounting to points.

Postecoglou’s team may be in all cup competitions, well placed in Europe and one up at halfway in a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool but they have five points from the last 11 league games.

They have not won at home in the Premier League since November 3 against Aston Villa. In the time since, they have been beaten by Ipswich, been held by Wolves and leaked six against Liverpool.

Now this. Leicester arrived in N17 pointless in seven. They stood one defeat from a club record in the Premier League, set in 2001 and which ended with a win against Spurs.

The goals came from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss.

The visitors clung on from here. It was far from pretty. They team wasted time terribly, but they resisted all Spurs could throw at them and they won for the first time since the start of December.

It had promised to be different when Richarlison opened the scoring in an error-strewn first half, drifting behind Wout Faes and holding James Justin at bay as he twisted to head in a cross from Pedro Porro.

It was his second goal in two Premier League games having missed most of the season to date through injury.

Before then, Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk had produced saves to keep his team in it.

First with a strong save to beat away a fierce strike by Porro and then an exceptional save to deny Heung-min Son, who thought he had found the bottom corner.

Son, after scoring twice at Hoffenheim on Thursday, carried a little of his old menace, and drew another fine save from Stolarczyk with a curling left footer tipped onto the bar, just before Richarlison’s opener.

Once behind, Leicester summoned a decent response. Pushing forward with purpose to force corners, with two efforts from distance deflected wide.

The one from El Khannouss had Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky worried as it looped up over him and caught the roof of the net.

But Tottenham crumbled after the interval.

Vardy levelled inside a minute after a series of defensive mistakes featuring Rodrigo Bentancur who missed a tackle, Porro who had vacated his post and Ben Davies and Kinsky who both dived to intercept a low cross by Bobby de Cordova-Reid and both failed.

Jubilant Vardy converted from centimetres, his 10th goal in 18 Premier League games against Tottenham.

The goal rocked the home team and they conceded again very quickly. Again, the defending left much to be desired in the same areas of the pitch.

Bentancur was muscled off the ball by De Cordova Reid who rolled a short pass to El Khannouss.

Tottenham’s defenders sat back and invited the Morocco international to take aim from distance, which he did and found the bottom corner, beyond the dive of Kinsky.

The mood soured. Some Tottenham fans returned late to their seats from the half time interval to find the game on its head and the hardcore in the South Stand turning their attention on Levy, who was present in the directors’ box.

They booed the decision to replace Richarlison, although Postecoglou later said he had been feeling a groin strain and should have come off at half time.

Pape Matar Sarr should not have started, according to the Spurs boss, but insisted on playing through injury.

Tottenham were better going forward after the changes but still so vulnerable at the back.

Dejan Kulusevski found himself clean through onto a long ball from Kinsky only to be denied by keeper Stolarczyk and Porro, so awful defensively, made an impression in attack.

First striking the bar from a free kick deflected off Vardy, then wriggling through a crowd of blue shirts and slicing wide when teammates were better placed and then crossing for Radu Dragusin to head over.

Nerves frayed around the stadium as the minutes ticked down and frustrations heightened as Leicester blatantly played for time. Seven minutes added time did not seem to compensate but the visitors hung on to climb out of bottom three as Tottenham plunge back into the gloom.

Jamie Vardy hilariously mocked Tottenham fans after he netted the equaliser for the Foxes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The English striker always causes Spurs problems and he did it once again pouncing on a mistake from the Tottenham keeper in the second minute of the second half.

It now takes Vardy's goal tally against the North London side in the league to nine, and marks his second this season.

Vardy added further insult to the home crowd through his celebration by mocking their trophy cabinet or lack of one.

Racing towards the home fans, Vardy pointed to the Premier League badge on his sleeve making a number one with his hand before gesturing a zero to the onlooking Spurs fans.

The cheeky celebration caused the stadium to erupt, with the home crowd exploding in anger by the insult, in turn solidifying the English striker's position as one of the top wind-up merchants in the game.

The celebration of course alluded to the 2015-16 season which saw the Foxes lift the coveted trophy during their fairytale run under Claudio Ranieri.

Vardy's goal ended up being the catalyst for Ruud van Nistlerooy's side who staged a 2-1 comeback against the Lily Whites.

Just three minutes following his close range finish, the Foxes found the back of the net once more through Bilal El Khannouss' outside of the box shot.

With the victory today, Leicester now find themselves one point and one position above the relegation zone.

Marking the first time they have been out of the drop zone since before Christmas.

Spurs have been dealing with several injuries and have been dealt another blow

FOLLOW LIVE: Tottenham look to improve their Premier League form vs Leicester

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Tottenham have been dealt yet another injury blow as a key star was ruled out of their clash with Leicester.

The club have been dealing with a plethora of injury issues this season, often fielding a patched-up side with it, at times, feeling like players have been dropping from the squad like flies.

First-choice centre back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky Van De Ven have been missing for a number of weeks, with first-choice striker Dominic Solanke also going down in recent days.

Elsewhere, the likes of Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson are also out.

Stars such as Ben Davies and Richarlison have recently returned to action, and it had looked like the tide was somewhat turning, only for yet another first-team player to be ruled out of Sunday's clash.

James Maddison was a surprise omission from the squad to face the Foxes, and Ange Postecoglou explained why he was not involved.

'He [Maddison] is still a bit sore from the other night,' the Australian told Sky Sports before kick-off. 'It took a fair bit out of him and he was not 100 per cent, so he misses out.'

Asked if the injury was serious, Postecoglou said: 'No we hope not. He should be alright for next week.'

It is reported that Maddison did travel to the stadium with his team-mates, but wasn't passed fit to be included.

His absence came just a matter of days after he shone in Spurs' Europa League win over Hoffenheim on Thursday, where he scored the opening goal of the 3-2 win.

Also absent was full back Djed Spence, who failed a late fitness test, though Pape Matar Sarr passed his late test and lined up in midfield alongside Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall.

Postecoglou has signed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky this month and says the club have been working hard to find further reinforcements.

Speaking last week, he said: 'It is tricky as all clubs are finding. I guess traditionally it ramps up in that final week so we're approaching there for all clubs.

'It's even trickier in January because once you try to acquire a player, the club wants to replace that player. So there's all sorts of logistics involved.

'It's not frustration. It would be frustration and disappointment if the club weren't working hard, but they are. It's an easy word to say but I know how hard the club have been working behind the scenes to get something done, but it's not easy.'

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad in the Premier League plus updates from Crystal Palace vs Brentford.

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A key figure this week exposed Tottenham and Levy's institutional cowardice

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Strange club, Tottenham, but a win is a win and on Thursday they had two. A double, if you fancy triggering older fans with other memories of the term.

We can return to the merits of scratching past Hoffenheim in Europe, but first let’s rewind to a few hours earlier, before their slog against the 15th-ranked team in Germany. That takes us to the morning and the publication of Deloitte’s Money League report, showing how the bean counters at our various clubs are getting on.

Now, those are happier league tables for Spurs, because they have beans stacked as high as the eye can see. Big beans for big boys, and by revenue they are the ninth biggest boy in the footballing world. Fifth biggest in the Premier League.

It’s all there in the bars of a chart – Tottenham’s earnings for the 2023-24 season amounted to £519.5million, not factoring in their transfer dealings, and that is a roaring trade. For accounts drawn one year on from their last appearance in the Champions League, in 22-23, the numbers are sublime, actually.

So, happy shareholders, happy life; the flick, the trick, the graphs that make Daniel Levy tick.

The peculiarities of his reign are no secret by now, not after 24 years, but they are always worth a re-examination when fresh numbers come in, as they did on Thursday. I’m thinking specifically about the wages as a percentage of turnover, which sounds dry. And it is. But it’s the metric that tells us if a club is willing to live a little or too much.

In Tottenham’s case, the spend on wages in 2024 was 42 per cent of revenue, so around £218m, and the figure requires some context through comparison. That being both a comparison to their own behaviours, showing this to be Spurs’s lowest commitment by percentage in the past five seasons, and a comparison to their competition.

Going in order of the revenues with which Deloitte ranked the nine British clubs in the world’s top 20, Manchester City spent 57 per cent of their £706.8m turnover on wages (£403.4m), and they might be seen as our standard bearer, pending the outcome of deeper enquiries.

Next up is Manchester United, who operated at 56 per cent (£364m on wages), pursued by Arsenal at 53 per cent (£320m) and Liverpool at 63 per cent (£380m). Then it was Spurs, followed by Chelsea (72 per cent, £331.7m), Newcastle (68 per cent, £213m), West Ham (58 per cent, £157m), and Aston Villa (96 per cent, £251m).

We might look at one of the two outliers in that sample, which is Villa, who gambled 90 per cent or more of their turnover on wages in three of the past five seasons. It contributed to a place in the Champions League, so they are probably cool with their lot, but the fact Douglas Luiz now plays for Juventus tells of their proximity to cliff edge. Just as United demonstrated that £364m can be easily wasted.

Those figures highlight an inexactness in the art, but they also offer a guideline for where the richer clubs draw their lines. How they quantify ambition. And when we look at it that way, Levy’s beans suddenly don’t appear very big at all.

They are the beans of a man who has committed upwards of 47 per cent on wages just once in the past five seasons. They are the beans of a man who isn’t even remotely close to the middle ground between extreme caution and recklessness. The beans of an executive who could sign three high-tier players on £250,000 a week, £39m a year combined, and still be within 50 per cent of turnover. Levy should be embarrassed by those beans. They are the beans of institutional cowardice.

And isn’t that horribly out of place at a club that markets itself on daring and doing?

It’s a club that appointed a cavalier in Ange Postecoglou, but left him relying on five teenagers to see out the game against Hoffenheim on Thursday. A club that went into the tie four players short of a full bench, with a cast of exhausted men on the pitch, and is yet to sign a senior outfielder in the January market.

I admire Postecoglou, I find him exciting and different, which isn’t the same as believing there is vast wisdom in his method.

There is also a question to be asked about the sense in appointing a manager with a high-intensity style, with all the burnout issues we have gone on to see, when you aren’t prepared to supply him with a squad able to satisfy demands.

But Postecoglou has big beans and we can all agree on that. He is striving, being bold, and his exasperation is growing by the week. On Friday, ahead of Sunday’s game of dire need against Leicester, he said Tottenham would be ‘playing with fire’ if reinforcements don’t arrive in the next week.

But is Levy even listening? Does he pay any notice to those social media posts flagging that his previous three managers sat first in Italy, second in Turkey and third in the Premier League going into this weekend? Were they all solely the problem? Was Antonio Conte a mile off-beam with his moaning?

If we are to give Levy his due, beyond the magnificence of the stadium, it is that he has splashed plenty on transfers in the past few seasons and he has kept the club safe from the PSR buzzards.

But wages, not fees, are the key to landing the best players and to date only Levy’s salary, which has fluctuated between £3.5m and 6.5m of late, would rank as best in class for the division.

Going above his ceiling of £200,000 a week to change Tottenham’s narrative? Good luck to Postecoglou if he is privately nudging in that direction, even if these latest figures prove, yet again, the club is operating a mile within itself.

And that’s a shambles, really. A stain. A contradiction of what Levy says in public about feeling the same heartbeat as Tottenham’s fans. They are words he has used since day one, as contained in his very first set of programme notes, in March 2001.

I dug them out this week, and he talks about being a supporter on the West Stand at White Hart Lane, of wearing rosettes and idolising Gazza and Lineker. That kind of tone.

But there’s also a bit on spending, as it happened, and naturally that is what catches the eye now.

‘Sir Alan (Sugar) faced the same challenges we do now balancing the needs of shareholders, who want profit, with those of the fans, who want success on the pitch,’ he wrote. ‘Sometimes, the two do not go together. It is a balancing act.’

With each set of accounts, it becomes clearer that only one side of the line ever mattered. Postecoglou should pour himself a double.

Ratcliffe burns bridges on the water

In the latest instalment of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s adventures in sport, he has had a total breakdown in his relationship with Sir Ben Ainslie and decided he can win the America’s Cup without him.

That being Ainslie, four-time Olympic champion, winner of the 2013 Cup for the US, and a man who recently delivered a British yacht to the final for the first time since 1964.

There’s a lot to be said for confidence and even more for those who recognise when the other guy in the room is smarter in their field.

So good luck to Manchester United as those rocks get closer, but at least they have Captain Jim at the helm.

Sweeney digs his heels in

Bill Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union chief executive, refused to apologise this week for accepting a £358,000 bonus and £1.1million salary at a time of record losses and redundancies at Twickenham.

With that much brass in his neck, he would surely be of more use on the pitch than off it.

Postecoglou has urged the Spurs board to be active in the transfer market

His struggling side face a deep injury crisis, with 12 players currently sidelined

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou believes the club are ‘playing with fire’ if they do not bring in any players during the January transfer window.

Spurs’ injury list is increasing by the week but there do not appear to be any signings in sight.

Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke headline the list of key players missing at a crucial part of the season. Timo Werner and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also remain unavailable.

Midfielder Pape Sarr is the latest to suffer an injury setback and defender Cristian Romero will remain on the sidelines for tomorrow’s home clash with Leicester, despite having returned to training.

Asked if there is money for Spurs to spend, Postecoglou said: ‘Don’t ask those questions, it’s not something I’m involved in. My discussions with Johan (Lange, technical director) and the club have been about trying to get some help for the players and then I’ll let them do their jobs.

‘There’s not a lot more depth that I can give to it because, within the context of that, I’ve still got to manage this team and get them ready.’

Spurs earned a morale-boosting win in the Europa League at Hoffenheim on Thursday to put them on course for a spot in the last 16, before jetting back to their north London training ground. ‘We got back at 2am,’ Postecoglou explained, before outlining the transfer structure within which he is working.

‘I’m not out there trying to find opportunities for the club. That’s not my role at this time. There isn’t the time to do it. But I have daily communication with Johan and he’s trying everything he can to get the help we need.

‘I don’t think I’m stating anything other than the obvious and for me to come in here and say something else would be disingenuous. This playing group needs help, there’s no doubt about that.

‘We’re playing with fire by not bringing anyone in but the flip side is that the club are doing everything in their power to try and change that situation.’

Spurs’ wins over Hoffenheim, Tamworth, Liverpool and Manchester United in the cups have masked a dreadful run of form in the Premier League. They have won just once in 10 league games since beating Manchester City 4-0 in November, losing seven, and have dropped to 15th.

Despite his ever-growing injury list, Postecoglou remains optimistic for the remainder of Spurs’ season.

‘We need to get results in the league because where we are is unacceptable,’ he added.

‘But there’s still plenty to play for. It’s exciting and I think the fans all sense that as well. They want us to get through this period so we can tackle that exciting part of the season in the best shape possible.’

Ange Postecoglou has been handed an injury boost with two players back fit

Tottenham travel to Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday night

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Tottenham vice captain Cristian Romero has provided Ange Postecoglou with a timely boost after he took part in training ahead of Thursday's trip to Hoffenheim.

Romero has only played once over the last two months due to toe and groin issues respectively during a spell where Spurs have repeatedly been without key personnel.

A 3-2 loss at Everton on Sunday increased the external noise around Postecoglou's position and while it is understood he retains the support of the club board, the sight of Romero being able to train on Wednesday morning will lift spirits amongst a depleted squad.

Midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was also involved in training alongside centre-back Radu Dragusin, who was forced off at Everton.

Bentancur suffered a sickening head injury during a 1-0 win over Liverpool on January 8 and was ruled out of action for a minimum of 12 days due to concussion protocols.

While the Uruguayan looks set to feature in Germany after he returned to training and Romero may be in contention, Postecoglou has limited other options.

January recruit Antonin Kinsky, the reinvigorated Djed Spence, Sergio Reguilon and 18-year-old South Korea attacker Yang Min-hyeok cannot play on Thursday as they are not registered in the club's league phase squad for the Europa League.

With Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Yves Bissouma, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke definitely ruled out, Postecoglou will be without at least 12 first-team options for a crucial fixture.

Spurs are ninth in the Europa League ahead of Thursday's penultimate league phase match, but a victory at Hoffenheim would boost their chances of a top-eight finish, which would send them through to the last 16 and avoid an extra two-legged knock-out tie in February.