Angel Postecoglou insisted he is “still winning” trophies in his second season at a club, while striking an upbeat tone despite a slow start to the season. Tottenham season.
Derby defeat at Arsenal was Spurs“second defeat in four games Premier League games, while Postecoglou’s team also suffered a Opening weekend setback in a draw against Leicester.
The hosts controlled much of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but were unable to break through Arsenal’s defence, while familiar failures on set pieces proved costly once again in a 1-0 defeat.
But citing his recent record of leading Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic to league titles in his second year at the clubs, Postecoglou made it clear that Spurs fans can expect titles this season.
“I’ll stand corrected – I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second year,” the Australian said when asked Sky Sports about a preseason interview in which he said he “usually” won things in his second season.
“Nothing has changed. I said it now. I don’t say anything if I don’t believe it.”
Postecoglou led Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first season at the club. It has been 16 years since Tottenham last won a trophy, the 2008 League Cup.
Arsenal defender Gabriel headed the only goal of the game on Sunday after being left free following Bukayo Saka’s corner.
It is the 18th league goal Spurs have conceded from set pieces since the start of last season, a tally bettered only by Nottingham Forest.
But Postecoglou insists his team work on defending corners and free kicks “all the time”.
“I know, for some reason, people think I don’t care about set pieces, and that’s a narrative you can keep repeating for ages and ages,” the Spurs boss said.
“I understand that, as I said, we work on them all the time, as we do with all the other teams, you know Arsenal are a threat. Overall we handled them very well today, but we had a break.
“That’s my burden, mate, and I’m happy to do it. As I’ve always said, for me there’s a bigger picture, there’s a game here that’s much bigger than the little details that get us where we want to go.”
