Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media following Tottenham’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Thursday night.
Spurs continue to deal with a big injury list but it was their attacking players, with captain Son Heung-min on the bench, who struggled to create chances at the Vitality Stadium with only four shots on target and the defence conceded from a set piece with Dean Huijsen left completely unmarked to head in from a corner just 18 minutes into the encounter.
Tottenham had plenty of the ball, but it was the hosts who had the better chances in the second half with Fraser Forster called into action on a number of occasions and they had two efforts ruled out for offside. The visitors also lost Ben Davies to a hamstring injury during the second half.
After the game, the Tottenham players went over to the away fans and were given some vocal feedback from the disappointed supporters and Postecoglou then had a back and forth with them after receiving some choice words from the travelling Spurs faithful.
Here’s every single word Postecoglou said in his press conference at the Vitality Stadium after he walked off the pitch and in to face the media.
What are your thoughts on the performance?
Very disappointing. We started the game well. Started the game the way we wanted to and started controlling it but we give away a poor goal, a really poor goal. Again. That allows the opposition to, and it is a difficult place to come to anyways, sit back and play the football they want. To counter-attack and we have to open up. It is disappointing and not good enough. It is not something that is a one off. We have done that now three or four times and paid a price for it.
You dominated possession but had only four shots on target?
Like I said, we started the game well but football is a game where you try to control it and dictate it to play the way you want to but when you give goals away like we did tonight, and we have done that consistently not just with set-pieces but just in general this year, it just gives the opportunity then for the opposition, particularly a team like Bournemouth, to play on the counter which is what they want to do. We have to open up. They can sit back. Just really disappointing it has happened again. Something for me to mull over and do something about.
You walked over to the fans and spoke to them, what happened?
They are disappointed, rightly so. They gave me some direct feedback which I guess is taken on board.
What did they say?
Yeah probably not for here mate.
Is this match down to tiredness because of the busy schedule?
I don’t know but again we need to be better in the way we deal with certain things. When you are coming to a place like Bournemouth the one thing you do know is it’s going to be a tough game with the conditions and the way they play, they sort of keep under control the whole time. But I thought we started well so to give them a goal is just, like I said, madness from us. Not just because it is a set-piece but because we have done that on a number of occasions this year with balls arriving in the box and we are paying a big price for it.
What about Ben Davies, how much of a blow is that?
It looks like he’s done his hamstring. Him and Radu have played every game. It’s the one position we can’t rotate. He’ll obviously be out for a period of time now, we’ll just have to wait and see how long it is. It’s a consequence of having the squad we have at the moment.
What do you put the lack of consistency down to?
We just don’t have this real understanding of game state to know that just because we’ve started a game well, to allow the opposition the opportunity then to turn the tide and play the game on their terms. We’ve come from behind often and it’s something that we’ve done really well but you can’t, especially in a place like Bournemouth where it’s going to be tough anyway with the conditions, you can’t give them a goal like we did tonight. Because you’re just going to work doubly hard to create opportunities, they’re going to get more opportunities because we’re going to have to open up. It turns it into a game that’s impossible to control.
