Joy short-lived for Postecoglou as league woes continue

LONDON : The rare smile Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou wore four days ago in Frankfurt was replaced by the more familiar frown as a 2-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest made it 18 Premier League losses for the London club this season.

Tottenham found themselves 2-0 down after 16 minutes and although they dominated the game thereafter and got a late lifeline through Richarlison, it proved another tale of woe in a season that could become Tottenham's worst in terms of points gained since they managed only 44 in 1997-98.

With a tough run-in to come, including a trip to champions-elect Liverpool next weekend, they are down in 16th place with 37 points. Only the bottom three clubs have lost more games.

Tottenham's 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt which put them in the Europa League semi-finals kept their season alive and Postecoglou could yet deliver on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club.

But another damaging league defeat, their eighth at home in the league this season, increases the pressure on the 59-year-old former Celtic manager.

"It's another game we have lost where we shouldn't lose and it's been a big part of our season in that we are just making things really difficult for ourselves in key moments," Australian Postecoglou told reporters.

"Giving away poor goals. It's a shame because our football was outstanding and we totally dominated the game. Even with the two goals we conceded I still feel like we deserved to win the game. At the same time it's another loss and another unacceptable loss.

"For us it's just been a season where at times, even with the challenges we have had, it's really frustrating because our football was so good. We have lost another game."

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