Tottenham next manager: Andoni Iraola claim made as Postecoglou ‘shot down’
Tottenham’s struggles this season have been clear and sitting 14th in the Premier League is certainly not where any fan expected to be this term.
Although Ange Postecoglou has had to put up with countless injuries in his side, patience with him is wearing thin from some.
This has left plenty of speculation being spoken about when it comes to the future of the Australian in North London.
Alex Crook makes Andoni Iraola comparison
With the Lilywhites out of both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, there is only Europa League action left to play for this term which is forcing questions to be asked of the Spurs boss.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has previously been named as the bookmakers’ favourite to take up a position at Tottenham should the managerial role become vacant.
However, Postecoglou has hit out about the toll that injuries are taking on his team arguing that criticism is unfair as it’s a lot to cope with and responsible for many of their issues.
Talking live on talkSPORT (14 February), Alex Crook disputed the stance of the Spurs boss as he made a stark comparison of the two mentioned bosses saying: “His argument about injuries is shot down by one look at the league table because Bournemouth have been besieged by injuries.
“They’re going to go to Southampton tomorrow, they’ve not got a recognised number nine. They had when they beat Forest 5-0, they had double figures in terms of players watching from the stand pretty much.
“They’re seventh in the table so Andoni Iraola, who I think may well be one of the contenders to replace Postsecoglou if Tottenham do decide to part company with him, is making the best of his situation.
“Whereas all Postecoglou seems to be doing is looking for sympathy and you’re not going to get the sympathy Ange if your default mechanism after a defeat is to be downright rude to reporters who are just doing their job and asking questions. So you can’t have it both ways pal.”
Ange Postecoglou on thin ice at Tottenham
You can of course understand why Postecoglou is eager to refer to the injuries in his side as there is no doubt that some of the thinness in the squad has had a negative impact on his side’s outcomes this term.
Furthermore, with owner Daniel Levy showing a lack of support when it came to bringing in new faces, it does mean that the manager has been asked to cope with difficult circumstances.
However, what has been striking throughout the campaign is the boss’ insistence of playing a certain style of football even when he doesn’t have the players to suit this style and that too has certainly led to a number of Tottenham’s defeats this term.
As Crook points out, sides like Bournemouth have also been struck with an injury crisis this term too but Iraola has done well to cope with the cards he has been dealt and continues to overachieve with his Cherries squad, despite having fewer resources available to him.
Therefore, it does feel as though Postecoglou is trying to dive from his share of responsibility a bit too much which is why some are finding themselves being rubbed up the wrong way by the boss.
It seems as though Postecoglou needs to worry more about his future rather than outside thoughts and make the appropriate changes to save his career.