Kieran McKenna shares Tottenham admission amid Spurs next manager speculation
Kieran McKenna offered his honest assessment on Tottenham after they beat Ipswich 4-1.
The Lilywhites came out on top on Saturday with three different goalscorers on the sheet, suggesting improvement from Tottenham.
Given how much pressure there has been Ange Postecoglou’s job, it is yet to be seen whether his side’s improved form will take the heat off his shoulders.
Postecoglou still not convincing some at Tottenham
With his side sitting 12th in the Premier League and out of both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, it’s not too surprising that there has been speculation surrounding the future of Postecoglou at Tottenham.
Despite a dismal run of form earlier in the season, Daniel Levy stuck by his appointment which created debate around whether it was the manager or chairman to blame for where the North London outfit currently finds themselves.
While his side have got three wins from their last three Premier League game, it seems not everyone is convinced that this is a sign of better things to come.
In fact, in his post-match press conference aired on Match of the Day (22 February), Ipswich boss McKenna compared the two sides and suggested it was fine margins between them.
| Ipswich | Tottenham | |
| Possession | 41% | 59% |
| Total shots | 17 | 10 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 6 |
| Expected goals | 1.15 | 1.71 |
The Ipswich boss said: “Their execution was top and our defending in those moments wasn’t good enough. In the couple of moments when they got to our box, it wasn’t many times, but they were really, really clinical and we didn’t defend the situations well enough.
“I think throughout the first half, and throughout the game really we got much better situations, much better positions than them but their level was higher than ours on taking the opportunities that came their way.”
Ange Postecoglou still has some convincing to do at Tottenham
All you can do in football is beat the team that is in front of you in each game and Tottenham showed their quality in the final moments to take the all-important three points.
With three wins in their last three games, the Lilywhites will be hoping this is a sign of them building momentum in the side that may see them take more confidence forward into future performances.
However, when you look at the match statistics, you can understand McKenna’s point that across the 90 minutes, it was probably a closer game than the scoreline actually reflects.
With that in mind, it’s not too surprising that the current Ipswich boss is one name who has been mentioned in relation to the Tottenham job should a vacancy open up.
It seems there is still plenty of work for the Australian to do in order to show that he is the man with the ability to take his side forward.
Therefore, if Postecoglou was sacked, you can certainly see why McKenna has done enough to be linked with the job.
However, given Spurs’ losing record this term, if a change was made, Levy could well choose to move further away from what he currently has.