Ange Postecoglou praised Bournemouth ahead of his side's matchup with The Cherries at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, as his side look to bounce back following an awful night in Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League.
The Australian was also full of praise for their Head Coach, Andoni Iraola, who has been touted as a potential successor to the former Celtic boss should he part ways with Tottenham Hotspur either in the near future, depending on upcoming results, or come the end of the season, where a review into what has been a poor campaign will be held.
"They've been really good and they were last year too. Andoni has a really distinct way of playing, they're really aggressive with their football both with and without the ball. They've got some very good players who are developing under them. Good challenge. For us, as I said, it's a real clear objective that we need to play well if we want to get the result that we want."
Bournemouth beat Spurs when the two sides met at the Vitality Stadium in December, another game which highlighted the inconsistencies that The Lilywhites have shown throughout the season so far. Despite dominating the ball in that affair, they did nothing with it, having just four shots on target and losing 1-0, but it could and should have in fact been more.
A victory would be a timely confidence boost ahead of what could be a decider over the future of Postecoglou, with his team having to turn around a 1-0 deficit after losing the first leg of their Europa League tie against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening.
"Yeah, it's important and the result is the ultimate ambition for the weekend but the performance is important. It's fair to say that it's our inconsistency. Our best and our worst this year has had too much of a gap.
"We've been really good at times but like last night we've been poor at times this year and we've paid the price for that. We need to rectify that and try to get more consistency in performance which will then reflect more on the results.
We need both a good performance and a good result at the weekend. Like I said, the Alkmaar game, as poor as it was, the reality is that it's 1-0 and we have got them at home next week. We can focus on that after the Bournemouth game but right now that has to be our priority."
Postecoglou has clearly identified the main overarching issue of his side's season, which has so far seen them knocked out of the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup in the semi-final and the fourth round, respectively, and also sees them currently occupy 12th place in the Premier League.
-
Vicario's exchange with the fans
As the players went over to thank the 900+ Tottenham fans in the Netherlands at full-time on Thursday, they were met with understandable frustration and boos from the travelling contingency after a performance which was far from good enough.
Guglielmo Vicario, who finished the game as Spurs captain, could be seen gesturing to the fans and it appeared as though he was asking for more support, Postecoglou has now cleared up exactly what happened on the pitch at AZ Stadion.
"Vic is very, very passionate about this football club and very passionate about what we're trying to do here and he wants to win and he wants everyone on board with that. If people think there is one bad or vindictive bone in Vicario's makeup then they don't know the man that I do.
"The guy is one of the purest human beings you have ever come across, mate, so whatever he does he does for what he thinks is best for the team and for the football club because he really cares."
It's clear to see just how much the goalkeeper cares about the club. Whilst he was injured, he spent every home game on the touchline, bellowing instructions to his teammates and for the away games, he was shown shouting at his television from his home whilst watching with his parents, as captured in a mini-documentary on SPURSPLAY.
After the game on Thursday, he offered an open mind on the matters on the pitch, stating that it was far from good enough and he was disappointed, as well as being unsure as to why the team have been inconsistent this season, but he also wanted to ensure that the supporters who he said are vital both at home and away, stay on board with the team.
The Italian is the reason that The Lilywhites are still in the tie, having made countless good saves to keep the score at bay, and despite the fact that the travelling fans would have been furious with what they saw on the pitch, he has all the right to demand support from the fans through the tough times.
