Under pressure Ange Postecoglou is not mincing his words ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash with rivals West Ham.
Whenever West Ham and Tottenham meet, there’s always plenty on the line.
But this Saturday’s Premier League clash promises to be particularly significant for Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui and the man who has taken some of the heat off him lately – Spurs counterpart Ange Postecoglou.
The Hammers boss has found himself under immense pressure despite only taking over in the summer and overseeing a mammoth 21-player squad rebuild.
That pressure eased slightly thanks to West Ham’s 4-1 win over Ipswich.
And the media focus has shifted somewhat over to Postecoglou after Tottenham’s shocking collapse from 2-0 up to lose 3-2 at Brighton last time out.
Plenty on the line as West Ham go to Tottenham
The Spurs vs West Ham game is being shown live on TV.
That always adds an extra layer of intensity to proceedings.
But just to make sure, TNT Sports has stoked the fire with a controversial promo video.
Lopetegui’s Hammers will move above Tottenham in the fledgling Premier League table with a win.
West Ham beat Postecoglou’s Spurs on their own patch last season.
Should history repeat itself, it would really ignite the Lopetegui era while piling more pressure on the Australian.
Especially in the wake of reports Eddie Howe is being lined up as his potential replacement at Tottenham.
Well now he has come out fighting ahead of the London derby.
Spurs boss Postecoglou has issued a threat to explode and it’s bad news for West Ham.
Postecoglou threat to explode is bad news for West Ham
Speaking to Australian broadcaster Optus Sport, Postecoglou was not mincing his words.
He says he has not had the chance to address the Brighton shambles as players went off for international duty.
But Postecoglou has been stewing on the defeat and says he is going to tear into his players when he gets them together ahead of West Ham.
“You never know with international breaks whether it’s good or bad,” Postecoglou said.
“Maybe for the players it was good but I don’t like sitting on a loss. You want to get it out of your system and move on to the next challenge.
“There can be a tendency to over analyse and over emphasise things but it wasn’t a good one. It was a sore one.
“You know what it’s like before international football, the game finishes and everyone goes, the dressing room after the game is not the time to analyse,” Postecoglou said.
“So I’ve been sitting on it for 10 days mate I’m ready to explode when they get back in the building.
“That’ll be my therapy.”
Hammers must be ready for fired up Spurs
If West Ham are listening this will be very worrying indeed.
Make no mistake, Postecoglou is clearly planning to leave his players in no doubt they need to turn up against West Ham.
On their day Spurs have showed they are a quality side.
The first half against Brighton was proof of that.
Postecoglou is going to rip into his players and put a rocket up them.
So West Ham must be ready for a big response when they meet on Saturday lunchtime.
The Hammers have to be switched on from the start.
If Lopetegui can get his tactics right and stifle Spurs, the crowd may get restless and the players may start feeling the pressure again.
Related Topics
