Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou understands a Europa League final against Manchester United stirs mixed reactions but the Austrialian insisted he does not look at different opinions.
Spurs defeated Bodo/Glimt 2-0 to book their place in the final with a 5-1 aggregate victory and the North London side are now one win away from ending a troubled season with a first major trophy since 2008.
Despite Tottenham being 16th and Man United sitting 15th in the Premier League, the winner of the contest in Bilbao will be rewarded with a spot in next season’s Champions League.
“It’s going to upset a lot of people isn’t it! The debate’s now raging, the latest one is that neither of us will be able to get a trophy if we win, they’re just going to take a team photo because we’re not worthy,” he said to reporters.
“I mean, who cares if we’re struggling in the league? Why is that important? If it’s so easy to get to a final, then why doesn’t everyone who finishes in the top three do it?
“We understand our league form hasn’t been great. We understand the struggles we’ve had. A lot of them are because of the situation we’ve been in. But how does that diminish the achievement of getting to a final?
“I couldn’t care less who’s struggling and who’s not. I think both us and United have earned the right to be there.”
Tottenham’s form in Europe this season has been in stark contrast to their Premier League campaign in which they have lost 19 times in 35 matches. In the Europa League they have won nine of their 14 matches, drawn three and lost just two.
Bodo/Glimt had beaten the likes of Porto, Besiktas and Lazio on their home pitch to reach the semi-finals but Tottenham nullified them to an extent that the Norwegian side failed to score in a game for the first time since October.
“I love winning. That’s what I’ve done my whole career,” Postecoglou, whose tactics have been question at times this season by TV pundits, said.
“I love the way the boys clearly understood what we needed to do tonight.
“The key thing for us was not to allow them to get any sort of rhythm in their game. We never allowed them really to get into our half with any sort of clean possession. It’s a credit to the boys that they understood what the task was tonight.”
