Ange Postecoglou ended his matchday programme notes with a rather eye-catching line ahead of his side’s clash against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, and his statement came to fruition as Tottenham overcame the Eredivisie side 3-1.
It is hard to overstate just how much was riding on the result of Tottenham Hotspur’s second leg against Alkmaar after the Lilywhites were beaten 1-0 in the Netherlands last week.
Elimination from the Europa League would have left Spurs with nothing but pride to play for in the final months of the campaign and would have raised serious question marks about Postecoglou’s future at the club.
However, the Tottenham players stepped up on the big occasion and delivered a professional performance to turn around the tie, thus ensuring that the club’s trophy hopes remain alive and kicking.
What Ange Postecoglou had said in his programme notes
Postecoglou, who is not usually prone to extreme reactions on the touchline, was very emotive throughout Thursday’s game, which perhaps shows just how important the fixture was.
The Tottenham boss would have been delighted to see his players fight for him and each other on the pitch, with the home side delivering a dominant display and looking completely in control of the game until perhaps the final 10 minutes.
90 min reporter Sean Walsh has now pointed out that Postecoglou ended his programme notes with the line: “The time for talking is over – we need to deliver on the pitch.”
That line proved prophetic as the Tottenham players did do their talking on the pitch, showing why they cannot be written off just yet.
Tottenham players will know they can achieve something special
Spurs have had an extremely difficult season due to their injury issues and a number of the club’s stars have attracted a lot of criticism over recent months.
Their confidence would have undoubtedly taken a hit during that run, but the players would now realise that they have a chance to turn this into a special season and write their names into the history books by lifting the Europa League.
There will undoubtedly be a completely different energy in training and the dressing room on the back of their progression to the quarterfinal.
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