Ange Postecoglou has said that he is not really thinking about the battle for fourth place, insisting that he is more keen on seeing Tottenham progress and move in the right direction.
Spurs took charge of the race for fourth place over the weekend as Villa dropped points at home against Brentford before the Lilywhites overcame Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Sunday.
That means that Tottenham have moved back into fourth place and also have a game in hand over the Midlands side, who also have the additional distraction of the Europa Conference League to worry about.
However, Postecoglou is clearly tired of questions regarding Champions League qualification, insisting that he is far more concerned about seeing his side move in the right direction.
Postecoglou is not thinking about the top four
When asked if Spurs are now in control of the race for fourth, the Australian told Football.London: “Laughs) Yeah, go right for it, right from the start. Couldn’t care less about the race for fourth mate. What I care about is the way the team is progressing. Pleased with today. It had a little bit of everything. We started the game well, not just the goal, I thought we controlled the game well.”
Postecoglou admitted that he was disappointed with the equaliser that his side conceded against Forest but praised his players for the way they reacted and dominated the second period from start to finish.
He added: “We conceded from a counter-attack which was obviously disappointing. I thought we lost our way a little bit towards the back end of that first half, but a super reaction and the whole second half we were really dominant.
“We played some good football and scored a couple of good goals and created a couple more against a team that is desperate for points and fighting for everything. I guess every team is fighting for something and I thought we handled it really well.”
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It sounds like Postecoglou is trying his hardest to change the mentality of the players and the club by making it clear that a fourth-place finish does not necessarily represent success. He is evidently laying the groundwork for much grander ambitions for next season.