Postecoglou on Spurs semi final exit after 4-0 Liverpool hammering

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Postecoglou on Spurs semi final exit after 4-0 Liverpool hammering   06/02/2025  Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, Uk

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00:00Where did the lads get in terms of meeting your own expectations?

00:27It's fair to say we didn't really get to the levels we needed to tonight.

00:33It was always going to be a big challenge for us.

00:35They're obviously a very good side and it's been a great moment

00:38with all their players in very good form, very settled.

00:42But for us to give ourselves an opportunity,

00:47we had to be a lot more aggressive with and without the ball and we weren't.

00:51We allowed them to control the game and dictate where it was played.

00:58It's a good first.

01:01How damaging do you feel it can be for the season as a whole

01:05to miss out on that opportunity, the chance to really lift the season?

01:09It's disappointing.

01:12It was a great opportunity for us tonight to get to a final.

01:14We didn't take that opportunity.

01:17We didn't give ourselves a chance to take the opportunity.

01:20Which is probably more disappointing.

01:24Ultimately, it's an opportunity for further learning

01:29and an opportunity for us to atone for that by making amends

01:38and with a strong performance on Sunday.

01:41And something to rejoice in?

01:44It looks like his calf.

01:46It didn't look too good after the game.

01:48So probably won't take it to the list.

01:50Did you make it to two debuts on this?

01:53Yeah, I did okay.

01:55I thought Kevin was really positive, as was Matty.

01:59It's hard throwing guys in after three training sessions.

02:03It's not ideal.

02:05It's part of our dilemma at the moment of trying to get some fluency, consistency,

02:12but also knowing we have to continually tinker with the starting line-up

02:19to account for everything that's going on.

02:21But I thought they'd quit themselves as well.

02:25It's disappointing that you can't try and instil in your players to be brave

02:29and push forward.

02:31I don't think one of those sketches didn't ruin that.

02:33Yeah, it's disappointing.

02:35As I said, it's not the fact that we've come here and lost.

02:38I think it's a difficult place to come to.

02:42They're in a great moment right now.

02:45It would be difficult for anyone to come here.

02:48But I would have liked us to play more like who we are than we did tonight.

02:54There's a lesson in there for us, for sure.

02:57If we veer away from that, then it becomes an almost impossible task.

03:05Do you think you can be fairly judged as a manager if you've got 10 players injured?

03:10Or do you think, well, that's part of the game,

03:12and actually I should be judged on this performance?

03:17I don't worry about being judged or who's judging.

03:22I think ultimately my responsibility is that I try and get the players I have

03:30to perform to the best of their abilities

03:33and to tackle the challenges we've got at the moment.

03:36Everyone knows the challenges we've got.

03:39It's disappointing tonight because we had an opportunity to get to a final

03:44and they don't come around too often.

03:47To let that slip, as I said, is disappointing,

03:51but also probably more disappointing that we didn't play in the manner we wanted to

03:57and we know we can, which may have given us an opportunity to get through.

04:02As I said, there's some learnings in there for us and we'll take those away.

04:07So when someone like Jamie Redknapp says,

04:10I can't remember in my lifetime seeing you go down with less off-bike than you did today,

04:17do you think that's fair play?

04:20You're asking me? I'd ask Jamie. He's obviously made the comment.

04:24I know people get really excited about things like that.

04:29There are people on TV to give opinions and that's what they do and that's their job.

04:34My job is not to scan the TV or the commentary on our games.

04:39My job is to manage this football club

04:42and whatever people think or don't think is kind of irrelevant.

04:46It doesn't really matter.

04:47It doesn't really put any sort of emphasis on who we are

04:52and what we're trying to do.

04:56At the end of the day, everyone's allowed to have an opinion.

04:59Everyone's allowed to express that opinion.

05:05My view is I don't really need to respond to that or be affected by that because I don't care

05:13whether it's Jamie Redknapp or anyone else.

05:15I don't care. It doesn't worry me. It doesn't bother me.

05:18Hench, obviously they're top of the table but how good are Liverpool?

05:22Are they as good a side as you've seen in your two years?

05:27I don't really assess opposition teams. They're a good side.

05:29Like I said, they're in a great moment.

05:31They're flying in terms of all competitions.

05:34All their players are in great physical condition.

05:38Their top players are at the peak of their powers so they're in a great spot.

05:44So yeah, they're a compelling side at the moment for sure.

05:48They are where they are because of the sort of form and consistency they've shown.

06:09I think they understood the opportunity for sure.

06:13When the reality of it out there hits you sometimes it's a bit different to maybe what you envisaged in your head.

06:21I said we'll learn from tonight.

06:23The major lesson we learned is that we can't go into games like this looking to protect

06:37or try and get results in other ways than what's got us to this point.

06:44I'm sure the players will learn from that. I'm sure they're disappointed by that.

06:48As much as we've missed an opportunity to get to a final,

06:51what's probably hurting even more is we didn't really give ourselves a chance with the performance tonight.

06:55Is that the way you set the team up? Or was it just the way the game ended up being?

07:01No, we set the team up.

07:06Our intent was to go out there and play the same way we play every week

07:09and try and unsettle them and put pressure on them.

07:12It never materialised.

07:15We didn't really have conviction when we had the ball either,

07:18which allowed them to get a control of the game.

07:22A whole matter of things that we didn't do that would have given us at least an opportunity to get past this stage.

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