Rob Guest, football.london: Postecoglou retains Tottenham board's backing | OneFootball

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou retains the backing of the club's board, explains Rob Guest, Tottenham writer for football.london.

Tottenham sit 15th in the Premier League ahead of Sunday's trip to face Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium, with their disappointing season so far severely hampered by injuries.

Tottenham have one win in their last 11 Premier League games. How would you summarise the last two months?

It has not gone well at all, and the Premier League table tells that whole story. For Spurs to be in 15th, closer to the relegation zone than the top 10, just shows what has actually happened at the club over the past couple of months.

Injuries have really hit the team hard and it is injuries to big players as well; the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie – that is pretty much all of the backline.

Richarlison has just returned after being out for a long time, but you have got Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and James Maddison in the treatment room at the minute - and there are probably other players I have not even mentioned there, so that just shows how bad it is.

I think if you took nine or 10 players out of the Liverpool or Arsenal team, that would impact them as well. It has just been a horrible period for Spurs and for Ange Postecoglou.

The natural question to ask in a run of form like that is how much pressure Postecoglou is under. How much time do you think he's got to turn it around?

We reported last week that Postecoglou retains the backing of Spurs' board. Spurs remain intent on trying to help him rather than removing him from his position, so there is certainly a backing from those within the club.

But it is a results-based business and you can probably understand why he is odds-on with some bookies to lose his job.

I think there is certainly an understanding at the club of the situation Spurs have been in with the injuries, because it's been unprecedented. But again, you have just got to register the wins and that is what Spurs need right now.

What is a realistic target for Spurs for the rest of the season?

Finish as high as possible in the Premier League. That has got to be it for the league as they are quite a way off those European places now.

But the thing is, Spurs are still battling on four fronts: they are in the Europa League, and in a decent position to qualify; they are 1-0 up in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup against Liverpool; and then they are still in the FA Cup.

They have got a really tough game away at Villa in the latter competition, but they have won four of the five games at Villa Park since Villa came back into the Premier League in 2019. So there is still an awful lot for Tottenham to play for in what remains of the season and cup competitions will be huge.

Spurs have not won a trophy since 2008 and everyone is desperate for them to win one, so fingers crossed that is what they will be able to do.

Like I said, in terms of the league, they are probably going to finish as high as they possibly can to hopefully get some European football for next season, though they might be able to do that via the Europa League if they win that.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye out for at the weekend?

I will go with Dejan Kulusevski because he has been available for the majority of the season and I think he has been Spurs' best player. He is consistent, but I think he needs a break from the team just because he has been playing every few days.

When Kulusevski is on top of his game, it is fantastic for Spurs and he has really made an impact this season.

He has moved into a central position playing in the midfield three and has really excelled there but because of the injuries, he has been flipped between that role and being on the right wing. But wherever he plays, he can have a big impact.

I also need to mention Lucas Bergvall, who has been fantastic since he has come into the team. I think it was always going to take him a lot of time to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League, but I would say, since December, he has really, really kicked on and looks at home in the Premier League.

He is definitely a contender to be a regular starter for Spurs now. Then there is Djed Spence, who has been playing as a left-back.

He is a right-back by trade, but you cannot really tell. He has flourished on the left and is certainly one of the players Postecoglou and the club can count upon because, at times when Spurs have been struggling, not getting those results in the league, he has been at the top of his game and it is great to see him doing that.

What should Brentford expect from Spurs in terms of shape and style?

Postecoglou did go with a back three at Everton recently, but that did not work, so I do not think we will be seeing that for a long time!

With the players he has got available, he is just trying to fit what suits them. I think it will be the usual 4-3-3 and you know what you are going to get with Spurs.

They are a very attacking team, which is what everyone loves to see, but there are going to be chances for Brentford there.

Spurs won the previous meeting 3-1 in September. What's your score prediction for this one?

Brentford have been really good at home this season and Spurs haven’t won there yet; it has always been a draw. I will go with a 2-2 draw, like it was on the opening day of last season.