Ange Postecoglou warned Spurs atmosphere could ‘turn toxic’ soon

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has warned Ange Postecoglou that his position at Spurs could soon become untenable if he does not change his ways.

Ange Postecoglou coming under increasing pressure

Under normal circumstances, no Tottenham manager in the past couple of decades would have survived the run of poor form we have seen from Postecoglou‘s side this season.

Almost midway into the campaign, Spurs have lost half of their Premier League games so far and are languishing in the bottom half of the table.

However, the Australian is dealing with an unprecedented injury crisis, which is why there is still some sympathy towards him from a lot of the fans and the decision-makers at the club.

Martin Keown shoots warning to Postecoglou

However, Keown believes that if the Spurs boss does not manage to turn things around soon, the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could become toxic, which will have a cascading negative effect on the side.

The former Arsenal centre-back insisted that there is no point in the Lilywhites being the Premier League’s entertainers if they are getting turned over constantly by better-organised sides.

Keown wrote in The Daily Mail: “Tottenham are a club so torn that the atmosphere risks turning toxic if their next three games.

“You can feel the division in the fanbase, some dialling into radio phone-ins to point the finger at Ange Postecoglou, others calling for Daniel Levy‘s head, a dwindling number saying they’re satisfied with the 100mph football on show. 

“It is no good being seen as the Premier League’s great entertainers if your play does not also produce results, and right now, the fact is Tottenham are closer to the relegation zone than the top four. Spurs are hellbent on high pressing with a back four that park themselves on the halfway line to condense the space.

“They had 71 per cent possession at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, and yet Postecoglou’s plan of attack was undone by Nuno Espirito Santi’s more streetwise strategy as a single counterattack inflicted a ninth Premier League defeat of the campaign on Spurs.”

Keown calls for Tottenham to be more balanced

Keown drew parallels between Tottenham’s current predicament and the early days of Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal.

The pundit insisted that his own Gunners side had to become more pragmatic to go to the next level, and suggested that Spurs need to do the same.

Keown continued: “I respect Postecoglou for trying to change the culture of the club and in a way, it is admirable that he is so bullish in backing his high-energy philosophy. 

“I remember when Arsene Wenger first arrived at Arsenal with an ‘attack, attack, attack’ approach. As a defender, I was saying, ‘Whoa, hold on, let’s show some restraint and strike a balance here’. We even had an emergency meeting about it early in 1997-98, a season in which we went on to be crowned champions.

“But Tottenham seem a world away from striking that balance for themselves now. Postecoglou should be getting more out of the group he has. Tottenham’s front line looks good enough to extract better results.

“Dominic Solanke, Heung-min Son, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson all carry that attacking threat. But as a team, they have not been reading the game well enough to know when to drop off to deal with balls in behind. All it takes to beat their offside trap is for an opponent to make an intelligent run from deep, as Dominik Szoboszlai did for Liverpool before Christmas.”

The post Ange Postecoglou warned Spurs atmosphere could ‘turn toxic’ soon appeared first on Spurs Web.