Ange Postecoglou laughs off Tottenham sack pressure after Frankfurt victory | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou poked fun at his critics after his side's victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final eased the pressure on his shoulders.

It was suggested ahead of the game that Postecoglou could be sacked immediately if Spurs were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday, but a first-half penalty from Dominic Solanke ultimately booked the team a spot in the semi-finals.

Winning the competition, and therefore qualifying for the Champions League, is likely to be Postecoglou's only route to saving his job, but the boss was eager to remind those calling for his departure that his time in the dugout is not over just yet.

"I think I said yesterday, I am the same manager today that I was yesterday so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager or whoever thinks I wasn't doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way," he told the media.

"I don't care, it doesn't bother me, it doesn't affect what I do. For me, it's always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe? That’s much more important than what others may make of me.

"So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you're going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, mate, so let's see how that goes."

Solanke bagged the winning penalty / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages

Postecoglou made sure to avoid putting any pressure on his side to win the competition, however, instead opting to praise the squad for continuing to believe in themselves at the end of a bruising season which sees them sit 15th in the Premier League standings with six games to go.

"Look, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves," the Spurs boss stressed. "We're in the semi-final and will play a difficult opponent in the semi, but it's not about my belief in the team.

"What's more important is the belief the team has had because after a season like ours, it would be very easy for the players and staff, they could have left me in a pretty vulnerable place in terms of them splintering, but I've never felt that with all the noise around our season.

"They've been so united in believing in what we're trying to achieve here and that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back that I really believed this team could achieve. That is what keeps driving me. It isn't so much my belief in them, it's their belief in what we're doing and both players and staff have been outstanding.

"I am the front man for it but they take responsibility for it as well and all my decisions and everything I do, but not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we're doing. That is crucial when you're having a difficult season, but there is also a season of opportunity there."