The Irish News

Brennan Johnson insisted Tottenham’s bid to taste Europa League glory was not being driven by silencing their critics.

Spurs host Eintracht Frankfurt in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg, eager to continue in the competition to salvage a poor season, which has seen them drop to 14th in the Premier League.

Scrutiny on boss Ange Postecoglou seems at an all-time high, while on Tuesday night, fans of rivals Arsenal chanted ‘are you Tottenham in disguise?’ after a 3-0 victory over Real Madrid, but 16-goal Johnson played down talk of a trophy being the perfect response.

“Personally, I just want to win it for the group of players and the staff,” Johnson said. “I don’t really care about what other people sing and the critics to be honest. I feel like I switched off from that a long time ago.

“I love the lads, all the players in the squad, all the staff, the management team. I feel like we’ve created a real tight-knit group.

“I feel like we’ve all been under a lot of criticism, maybe different people at different points, so it’s something that we can all kind of relate to. So, we all have that understanding with each other.

“When it comes to tournaments like this and being able to progress, it’s something that we just want to do for each other because at the end of the day, we’ve had some tough times and there’d be no better joy to celebrate with the people that have had to go through it like I have as well.”

A notable incident from Sunday was also discussed after Mathys Tel was allowed to take a stoppage-time penalty in a 3-1 win over Southampton, despite Johnson being on a hat-trick.

When Postecoglou was quizzed on the topic, he described it as the latest example of “turning gold into crap” when it came to Tottenham.

Johnson added: “All of us attacking players, if there’s a chance to score from 12 yards without it being contested, all of us would want to take it.

“Once the decision had been made, it’s not really my nature to argue or have a fight about who takes a penalty.

“I’ve been in that situation before, where people are really reluctant to let someone else have a penalty and it can put you off. So, once the ball was with Mathys, I just wanted to get on the edge of the box and support him.”

Ange Postecoglou was pleased to see Brennan Johnson back in the goals to provide a welcome selection headache following Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Southampton.

Johnson scored for the first time at home in 2025 with two smart first-half strikes against Saints to take his tally for the campaign to 16 for Spurs, with 12 of those goals registered in victories.

Postecoglou has recently preferred Wilson Odobert on the right wing, but Johnson’s timely brace, having been hooked at half-time twice in March, served as a reminder of the Wales attacker’s ability before the visit of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

“I was really pleased for him, not just goals but his general (play) was really good. He’s important for us. As a wide player, there aren’t many around that are a constant goal threat like he is,” Postecoglou reflected.

“With Brennan, he’s always in the areas we need him to be. He’s probably one of the most disciplined players we have in terms of making sure he’s always in the right positions and that’s why he gets his goals.

“There have been times this season when his form has suffered because of the team more than anything else.

“I think like we played in the first half, Brennan becomes a really important player for us as we’re a constant threat, breaking lines, making half-space runs, we were getting balls into the box in the areas we need to and every time we went forward we looked like scoring.

“If we do that then I think it’s not a matter of confidence for Brennan, it just gives you more opportunities as the one thing about him is that he will always be in those positions so it’s up to us to match his discipline in that.”

Johnson missed out on a hat-trick after he won a stoppage-time spot-kick as Mathys Tel was given the ball by vice-captain Cristian Romero, but Spurs’ much-needed three points helped Postecoglou enjoy a rare drama-free day as Tottenham boss.

The 59-year-old was even able to keep Micky van de Ven “on ice” before Thursday’s last-eight first-leg tie where Richarlison – following a two-month injury lay-off – will be available after being an unused substitute against Southampton.

Postecoglou added: “Yeah, Destiny (Udogie) and Micky are fine. They have missed a lot of football this year so it made sense to put them on ice today.

“Richy is good. He’ll get a few more days in training and play a part from now on.”

Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale produced a string of fine saves at Tottenham, but it was not enough to prevent relegation and he is determined to help Saints past Derby’s record-low total of 11 points.

“It is a sad day and one that this group of players will learn from,” Ramsdale said.

“We want to get as many points as we can until the end of the season. No-one wants that record and we will do what we can to get more points on the board.”