- Tottenham beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final of the Europa League
- Spurs have endured a dismal domestic season, but could still win a trophy
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Ange Postecoglou hopes Thursday night in Frankfurt will prove the catalyst for change at Tottenham. That it goes down in history not only as the turning point in the season but also in his tenure as boss. That it wins over those who had lost faith and presents a chance to keep building on the work he has started.
‘I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, I get that,’ said Postecoglou. ‘That’s fair enough. I don’t think anyone is, we all have different views on life and people.
‘Some people will like you, some people won’t. Ultimately what’s important to me is to focus on trying to achieve something special and share it with people.’
Suddenly, a measure of success is tantalisingly close, with a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt booking Spurs into the last four of the Europa League and, despite a desperately poor Premier League season, potentially just two wins from the club’s first trophy for 17 years and a Champions League place.
‘We should keep building on what we’ve started,’ said Postecoglou about summer plans.
‘We’ve had a clear plan on how we’re going to play, what kind of squad we’re going to have, how we’re going to build that squad.
Ange Postecoglou hopes Tottenham’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt will be a catalyst for change
Spurs reached the Europa League semi-final after beating the German side 2-1 on aggregate
Postecoglou said Spurs must back up the Frankfurt triumph when the semi-final comes around
‘It’s no secret, we’ve gone for a certain age profile. I don’t think it should change. If you get Champions League football, that accelerates certain things. But for me it doesn’t really change anything.’
Tottenham host Nottingham Forest on Monday and travel to Liverpool before the semi-final starts at home against Bodo/Glimt of Norway.
Heung-min Son is out injured and James Maddison doubtful for Forest. Postecoglou will rest and rotate in the Premier League in preparation for the Europa League and wants Kevin Danso and Richarlison to play after injuries.
‘It’s easy to sit here and say Thursday night is a pivotal moment,’ said the Spurs boss.
‘It won’t be a pivotal moment if we don’t back it up in the semi. But do I think Thursday was significant? Yes I do for a number of reasons.
‘We overcame a real difficult opponent. We deserved to go through. There was no luck about it. Over two legs we were the stronger team. We did it in a real convincing manner and just the prospect of being in a semi-final means you’re two games away from being in a European final.
‘That is hugely incentivising so it maybe that was the pivotal game. And if you do a season review DVD – do they still do DVDs? – you might go that was the turning point, but we won’t know that until the end.’
