Ange Postecoglou defends Tottenham defeat with swipe at Liverpool upset | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou delivered an impassioned defence of his players after Sunday's FA Cup exit to Aston Villa came just four days after Carabao Cup elimination.

Spurs remain active in the Europa League, which now serves as Postecoglou's last chance to make good on his career record of always winning a trophy in his second season at a club. But they are 14th in the Premier League table and are on course for a worst finish since 2003/04 (also 14th).

Postecoglou won't have it that a "very small  group" of players aren't doing enough, highlighting the impact that an injury crisis like Spurs are dealing with would have on any club.

"People can judge me. They can say I've done a bad job, I'm not up to it or whatever. That's fine. What I'm saying is you can't be critical of our players' performances at this time," Postecoglou said.

"If you want to measure anything on what they're doing at the moment, other than the extreme situation they're dealing with, then I think your analysis is skewed and it's not objective. If it's to get rid of me that's fine. Good on you. Go for it a million times. But in terms of this group of players, what they've given over the past two and a half months has been outstanding."

Postecoglou's plea for fairness included a dig at Liverpool, knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle after resting almost all their usual starters.

"Take [the injured players] out of any team. How did Liverpool go today? And they just did that for one game. Do that for two and a half months. Any team, do that for two and a half months in multiple competitions," the Spurs boss continued.

"I don't care about me, people will judge me or whatever. But you can't judge this group of players on what's happened. They've given everything. Two 18-year-olds, a 17-year-old, a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old goalkeeper starting against one of the best teams in the country at home.

Tottenham are out of the FA Cup / JUSTIN TALLIS/GettyImages

"[Aston Villa] had a week off, they didn't play on Thursday night against Liverpool. We did. Same group of players, not a change. You can't measure this group on that and their performance. It's too easy for people to be critical of them. I have huge admiration and respect for them.

"What I'm saying is you can't be critical of players and players' performance during this time. If you do, then do that with everyone else when they've got nine or ten or 11 players out - none of them have - and for every game.

"I'm not just saying we had to do it today. We've been doing this since the middle of November. You can't judge the performance of these players or critique them on what they've done. All they've done is give all they can and that's all you can ask for.

"My responsibility at this club is this group of players and team to get them to play in the manner I want them to that will bring us success. Whether people think I can do that or not is for others to judge but there's got to be a better appreciation for what a very small group of players have been doing for the last two and a half months.

"It can't be that people think that is an excuse. That's just not anywhere near close to objective analysis. That's just agenda-driven stuff. If it's to get rid of me that's fine, good on you, go for it a million times. But in terms of this group of players, what they've given over the last two and a half months has been outstanding. It's a credit to them, I can't speak highly enough of them."