Spurs' Postecoglou 'not affected' by fans' abuse

Ange Postecoglou has won 42 of his 88 matches as Tottenham boss across all competitions

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou says he is not affected by the abuse he receives from some Spurs supporters and "will continue fighting".

Spurs suffered their 16th defeat in 30 Premier League games this season with Thursday night's 1-0 loss at Chelsea.

Postecoglou cupped his ear in the direction of the travelling Spurs fans after substitute Pape Sarr, whose introduction was booed four minutes earlier, scored an equaliser which was later disallowed.

Asked whether the abuse from some fans goes too far, Postecoglou said on Friday: "No, I am fine. I don't get affected by that. I will continue fighting my whole career."

He added: "I get that they [the fans] are frustrated and angry. At the same time, I understand the criticism towards me. But if anyone looked at the players and said they aren't trying - then I am sorry they are not watching the right game."

Spurs are 14th in the table with eight games left - one place above their worst Premier League finish in 1994 - and on course to finish outside the top 10 for the first time in 17 years.

'My mistake was celebrating a goal'

With their side trailing at Stamford Bridge, the Tottenham fans chanted "you don't know what you're doing" after booing Postecoglou's decision to replace Lucas Bergvall with Sarr in the 65th minute.

But Postecoglou turned towards them and cupped his ear when Sarr appeared to have levelled, before the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul by Sarr on Moises Caicedo in the build-up.

Addressing that incident, Postecoglou said: "I made a mistake last night in that I celebrated a goal.

"Since VAR came in here, there were four or five incidents in Scotland and I thought I am not really going to celebrate goals.

"I just felt we needed something. Cracking goal from Pape, I heard the fans weren't happy and I felt the need to celebrate and it could be a real momentum shift to finish strong.

"My mistake was celebrating a goal, VAR defeated me, I won't be doing that again."

Postecoglou said VAR was "killing the game" in his post-match interview.

The two VAR incidents on Thursday evening took just under seven minutes to resolve, contributing to 12 minutes being added on at the end of the match.

Caicedo's strike, disallowed for a marginal offside, took just under four minutes to resolve, while Sarr's equaliser took over three minutes.

"There was 12 minutes of extra time yesterday, that's not why VAR was brought in," Postecoglou added on Friday.

"I am the lone voice. I don't hear anyone else saying it. That's why I am sat here and saying maybe I am disconnected.

"When I retire, I will probably watch less football and find another hobby."

Despite their struggles in Postecoglou's second season, Spurs retain hopes of ending a 17-year wait for silverware this season in the Europa League.

They host the first leg of their quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next Thursday, before the return leg takes place on 17 April.

Postecoglou has only won 44 points from his past 39 league matches in charge, stretching back to the end of last season.

The Australian, appointed Spurs boss in June 2023 and contracted until 2027, has repeatedly referred to the club's injury list to explain his side's poor form this season.

But he said earlier this week that there are "outstanding candidates" who could replace him if he is sacked.

Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, Fulham's Marco Silva and Brentford's Thomas Frank having all been linked with Postecoglou's job.