Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu blasted critics for looking for “easy targets”, pointing at his side’s inefficiency to follow up their dominant performance against Manchester City as they were held to a one-all draw by 10-man Fulham.
The North London club were superb when they thrashed the champions 4-0 but could only manage a point as they returned to their home ground to face Fulham, despite taking the lead and having a man advantage later in the game.
Also, a frustrating share of the spoils against Roma in the Europa League as they dropped two points following a stoppage time equaliser.
However, Postecoglu was keen to defend his side who were missing key players like Dominic Solanke and Guglielmo Vicario — insisting that critics are always using the club success as an opportunity to hit.
“I think it’s too easy to say ‘well, let’s just play like we did against Man City every game’,” he said to press men.
“It somehow again seems with this club that whatever it is that we do well is then used as a millstone to bring us down in every other opportunity.
“I know people are going to keep using City as a reference point, but against City I was able to put on Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson [as substitutes]. We had Vicario in goal.
“I guess people are looking for easy targets, but if people don’t understand what we’re dealing with at the moment and how the players are coping with it – well, I think it’s fairly self-evident.
“We’re going to have to have days like today where things aren’t running smoothly, but all you can ask for is for the players to give everything they can and I think they did that and more today.”
Spurs are seventh but three points off the Champions League places, Postecoglou said his team were in a promising position for the rest of the season.
“We’re still in good shape,” he added, telling reporters.
“We’re in a decent position in the league, we’re still in the Carabao Cup, we’re in a decent position in Europe, so it’s about us maintaining our focus on continuing to develop.”
