Ange Postecoglou is ready to get things off his chest ahead of Tottenham's game against West Ham(Image: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou 'ready to explode' at Tottenham players before Premier League return vs West Ham

Ange Postecoglou will get things off his chest once his Tottenham players return to Hotspur Way from their international commitments

17 Oct 2024, 08:00 by Rob Guest · football.london

Ange Postecoglou has admitted he is "ready to explode" once his Tottenham players return to Hotspur Way from international duty. Heading into the Brighton & Hove Albion game before the pause in play on the back of five successive victories, Spurs looked set to make it six wins on the spin after taking a 2-0 lead into the half-time break.

However, Brighton would turn the game on its head in the second half as they scored three times to win the match 3-2. Postecoglou was very honest in his post-match press conference and labelled the loss as his "worst defeat" since becoming Tottenham head coach.

Unable to put things right on the pitch in the days after the defeat due to the international break taking place, the Lilywhites return to action on Saturday with a home clash against West Ham. Now that all of his players will have returned to Hotspur Way for training ahead of this weekend's London derby clash, Postecoglou is ready to get things off his chest after "sitting on it for ten days".

"You never know if it's (the international break) good or bad. Maybe for the players it was good, but I don't like sitting on a loss," said Postecoglou in an interview with Optus Sport. "You want to get it out of your system and move on to the next challenge, so you're kind of sitting on it.

"There can be a tendency to over-analyse things. It wasn't a good one, it was a sore one. The first half was unbelievable against Brighton and probably as well as we've played all year, but I didn't like the second half and what we looked like.

"It wasn't the loss, which was painful enough, but it was the manner in which we kind of went about it that I wasn't really comfortable with.

"You know what it's like with international football as the game finishes, everyone goes and the dressing room after the game is not the time to analyse. So I've been sitting on it for ten days, I'm ready to explode once they get back in the building and that will be my therapy."

Postecoglou has come in for criticism at times due to the team's style of play but that is not something that affects him. The Australian was brought to Tottenham to achieve success and he does believe that his team "will have success" as they look to accomplish their goals.

"I care about what I do and if I've upset one person that's enough for me. The scrutiny isn't the challenge," said the 59-year-old. "The challenge is the competition - you're playing against the best in the world. The demands of that are pretty dramatic in terms of where I've come from in terms of starting my journey.

"This club has its own unique challenges for sure. Are they more difficult than others? I don't know. When I was at Celtic I was expected to win. If you lose one game it's a major problem and not many can cope with that.

"It's just a different challenge for sure. I get why people would say it's the level and the scrutiny is the reason why you're not having success - I don't believe that. I believe we will have success and there's nothing here that makes me think that is insurmountable."

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you're curious you can check out our privacy policy here.