Ange Postecoglou has shrugged off harsh criticism from Jamie Redknapp following his Tottenham Hotspur team’s defeat at Anfield, insisting he’s unfazed by the commentary. Despite taking a lead to Liverpool for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, Spurs were roundly beaten 4-0 on Thursday, making it 4-1 on aggregate.
Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Virgil van Dijk found the net against a Tottenham side that didn’t manage a single shot on target.
Former Liverpool captain Redknapp, who also played for Spurs, claimed he couldn’t recall a more timid surrender, while Jamie Carragher was also scathing in his assessment of the visitors, yet when informed about the pundits’ opinions, Postecoglou insisted he was taking little notice.
“I know a lot of people get really excited about things like that,” Postecoglou said. “People on television are paid to give options, that’s their job, my job isn’t to scan television and the media and see what people say, it’s to manage this football team.
“At the end of the day, everyone is allowed to have an opinion and express that opinion. My view is I don’t really need to respond to that. I don’t care if it is Jamie Redknapp or anyone.”
However, Postecoglou did concede disappointment in how his team failed to rise to the occasion at Anfield.
“We had an opportunity to get to a final and they don’t come around too often,” he said. “It’s not the fact we have come here and lost that is disappointing, it’s a difficult place to come to, they are in a great moment right now and it would be difficult for anyone.
“Liverpool are a good side in a great moment, they are flying in four competitions, players are in great physical condition and are top players at peak of their powers.
“But I would have liked for us to be more like who we are than we were tonight. I think the players understood the opportunity, for sure, but the reality sometimes hits you. It is a bit different to what you envisaged in your head.”
Postecoglou added: “It’s fair to say we didn’t get to the levels we needed to tonight. For us to give ourselves an opportunity we had to be a lot more aggressive without the ball and we weren’t.
“We allowed them to control the game and dictate where it was played and in the end they were too good for us. It was a great opportunity for us tonight to get to a final and we didn’t take that opportunity. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to take the opportunity which is probably more disappointing.”
Postecoglou added: “It’s fair to say we didn’t get to the levels we needed to tonight. For us to give ourselves an opportunity we had to be a lot more aggressive without the ball and we weren’t.
“We allowed them to control the game and dictate where it was played and in the end they were too good for us. It was a great opportunity for us tonight to get to a final and we didn’t take that opportunity. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to take the opportunity which is probably more disappointing.”
