GLASGOW, Scotland — There’s a sure irony to the truth that Ange Postecoglou’s return to Scotland has coincided with essentially the most testing days of his reign as Tottenham Hotspur boss.
In equity, a match at Ibrox was by no means going to really feel like a homecoming for a person who received 5 main trophies with Rangers‘ archrivals Celtic earlier than making the transfer to north London 18 months in the past.
Postecoglou nonetheless garners devotion from one half of this metropolis; Celtic followers purchased wholeheartedly into his “we by no means cease” mantra — however the Rangers followers filtered by means of the turnstiles of their historic floor, braving the bitter chilly, hoping to observe their workforce land a knockout blow to the 59-year-old’s Spurs’ tenure.
However for Postecoglou’s use of his substitutes’ bench within the second half, the house followers would have seen their want fulfilled because the Premier League membership was bested in giant components by the third-best workforce in Scotland that had one eye on an Previous Agency conflict on Sunday within the Scottish League Cup remaining.
Help for Postecoglou can also be briefly provide amongst Spurs’ travelling followers, who provided a muted response to their workforce when the 1-1 draw was confirmed at full-time right here. One week in the past, a few of them have been concerned in a heated change with the Australian coach after the defeat to Bournemouth.
“As anticipated, they’re all the time tough to play in opposition to right here at Ibrox, significantly on European nights,” Postecoglou mentioned at a post-match information convention.
“Simply the character of the competition. The environment. Not many groups come right here and win. So that you form of anticipate it to be a tricky sport and we weren’t anyplace close to our greatest. That is honest to say.
“However on the similar time, we’re in a kind of interval of video games the place we’re form of grinding by means of in the intervening time with clearly with a reasonably depleted squad and we’re asking gamers to kind of stand up week in, week out. So within the context of that, in the long run, I believe it was end result for us.”
The draw leaves Spurs’ hopes of ending within the UEFA Europa League‘s prime eight, and thereby avoiding the playoff spherical, within the stability. They continue to be in ninth, exterior of the automated qualification spots for the Spherical of 16.
This festive interval was all the time going to be make or break for Postecoglou and Spurs’ short-term future. They’re in the course of an important run of 9 video games in 30 days — it is a sequence of fixtures that Postecoglou admitted in November would show “pivotal” for his workforce.
“On the finish of that interval, we may very well be in a good place for a robust second half of the 12 months, so for us, it is a vital interval,” Postecoglou mentioned the day earlier than the dramatic 4-0 win over Manchester Metropolis that began the nine-game run.
” there aren’t any extra worldwide breaks, so the total focus is right here, so you possibly can construct some momentum by means of that, or if issues do not go properly, you may get your self right into a little bit of a grind. So, for us, it’ll be a extremely pivotal a part of the season.”
Six video games into that nine-game run, there actually has been loads of grind.
With out Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, who have been named on the bench, Spurs carried little attacking risk within the first half.
The house aspect have been the aggressors, snapping into tackles that introduced screams of help from the relentless house crowd. Nedim Bajrami got here closest to opening the scoring with a fierce effort that Fraser Forster tipped over the crossbar. The perfect Spurs opening got here from a Rodrigo Bentancur cross that whistled by means of a Solanke-shaped gap on the sting of the six-yard field.
The second interval introduced Kulusevski’s introduction, instead of the often-haphazard Timo Werner, whose efficiency Postecoglou later described as “unacceptable.” Two minutes after the restart, although, Rangers took the lead after Hamza Igamane lashed in James Tavernier‘s cross.
Now, the Rangers followers had the second they’d been ready for. They bounced, screamed and revelled in Postecoglou’s misfortune. As quickly as they’d refilled their lungs, the house followers bellowed in unison: “You are getting sacked within the morning.”
Extra probabilities for Rangers got here and went, first Václav Černý wriggled by means of the Spurs however could not get his shot away, then Mohamed Diomande‘s deflected effort had Forster scrambling because the ball whistled previous the submit.
4 minutes later, Postecoglou had made three modifications; on got here Lucas Bergvall, Solanke and Pape Matar Sarr for Bentancur, Brennan Johnson and Yves Bissouma.
It proved the proper intervention at simply the fitting time for Postecoglou to salvage the sport, and perhaps his job. Solanke and Kulusevski mixed within the seventy fifth minute to open sufficient area on the sting of the penalty space earlier than the Sweden worldwide rolled a low shot previous Jack Butland.
Bergvall has been criticised for the influence he has made in video games since signing for Spurs in the summertime, however the 18-year-old added the chunk and guile the Spurs’ midfield had been lacking from the Bissouma-Bentancur axis.
Earlier than their late turnaround, Postecoglou’s assertion that he “wins issues in his second 12 months” actually appeared misplaced. In reality, his groups have struggled in Europe.
Regardless of their home successes, his Celtic workforce by no means made it out of a UEFA Champions League or Europa League group or received a knockout-round sport after dropping down into the UEFA Convention League playoffs.
The maelstrom of Thursday to Sunday video games is maybe an excessive amount of for Postecoglou’s high-energy philosophy. No workforce within the Premier League has pressed so excessive or made extra off-the-ball sprints as Spurs this season, and Postecoglou’s “by no means cease” ethos has had unintended penalties. He was unable to name upon eight first-team gamers for Thursday evening’s sport, with 5 of them nursing muscular points, together with first-choice defensive pair Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
His lack of choices prompted Postecoglou to call 18-year-old Archie Grey within the centre of the Spurs’ defence. Like his supervisor, Grey additionally has hyperlinks to Scotland — his father, Andy, grandfather Frank (European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest and Leeds United legend) and nice uncle Eddie (legendary former Leeds participant and supervisor) all represented Scotland — Frank and Eddie have been born in Glasgow, round seven miles from Ibrox.
“I believed he dealt with himself very well,” Postecoglou mentioned. “We’re asking him to do one thing that as an 18-year-old in his first 12 months at this stage to play an unfamiliar place and in such large video games. I believe it is excellent what he is doing.
“And I believed Lucas was wonderful when he got here on as properly. He was attributable to begin tonight however he wasn’t feeling properly right now. He is a bit below the climate so we needed to maintain him on the bench, however that is principally optimistic for us. I believe these two as 18-year-olds to be already contributing and experiencing these items, I believe will likely be an unlimited profit to us.”
On a tough evening for the workforce, Spurs’ two youngsters confirmed stunning maturity and maybe provided a glimpse of a brighter future for this Tottenham workforce.
