Ange Postecoglou said his Tottenham team will stick to their attacking principles despite a damaging run of results that has caused a tumble down the Premier League table.
Spurs were early pacesetters in the English top flight but have lost four of their past five games and have slipped to fifth, nine points behind leaders Arsenal.
Worryingly, they have taken the lead in every one of those matches, including Thursday’s 2-1 home defeat by West Ham, but have failed to win any of them — last week they drew 3-3 draw at Manchester City.
But Postecoglou, in his first season in charge, said he would stick to his philosophy as he prepares to welcome Newcastle to London.
EPL WRAP: Palace coach criticises Liverpool star; Villa make history in win
Spurs sink themselves after horror error | 01:31
“Nothing really changes, we stay the course,” he told SpursPlay.
“We want to set a standard in terms of the type of football we want to play and we’re not going to waver on that.
“Obviously we’re going through a tough time in terms of results at the moment, there’s areas of our game we need to keep working on and improving and that only comes from what we do on the training track and information we give the players.
“And I’m sure the players are as determined as anyone to turn things around in terms of the result process but at the same time not wavering from the football we want to play.”
The recent string of losses has seen the historic ‘Spursy’ tag, which has followed around the organisation over the years, start to resurface as a jab at Tottenham’s sudden slump.
Postecoglou had quite a firm response when asked about that word in particular.
“That’s schoolyard stuff,” Postecoglou said, although he wasn’t hiding away from the “reality” of it either.
“All I need to know is that this club hasn’t won anything for 15 years. That’s all I need to know,” he added.
“Why that is, and why others may think that is, and whatever tag, that’s the reality. There’s no getting away from that.
“There’s no point in me trying to disguise that or anybody else at this football club trying to disguise that. If you want to be successful, then like most organisations, you’ve got to learn from the mistakes of the past, you’ve got to come up with a plan, you’ve got to stick to it.
“Whatever tags other people want to put on it, that can’t be your motivation, that can’t be what drives you. If you want to bring success, you’ve got to have a clear idea of how you’re going to go about it and stick to the process.”
Trippier blunders punished with goals! | 01:01
Postecoglou went on to add that if Tottenham players want to change that external perception of the club, there is “only one way to do it” — winning.
“People are not going to change what they think about you because you want them to,” he said.
“You’ve got to give them a reason to. I’m here because the club wanted to change its course. I said from day one, change means change. If it means changing mindset because people are carrying scars from the past, let’s get rid of them.”
Postecoglou also said Newcastle, who like Spurs have been badly hit by injuries this season, would be fired up after their 3-0 defeat at Everton on Thursday.
“They’ll be coming here pretty determined to turn it around and it’s going to be a tough challenge for us,” he said.
The Australian said his team must impose themselves on Newcastle, who are seventh in the league, and make the most of the chances they create.
“If we are dominant in periods we need to take advantage of that,” he said, adding that the fans deserved a win.
“The support has been outstanding but we’ve got to give back,” he said. “I think they are seeing the efforts we are making but we need to give them a reward for the support they’ve given us so far.” Spurs captain Son Heung-min was substituted in the final minutes against West Ham after suffering a blow to his back.
“No update yet,” said Postecoglou. “We’ll see how he is because he was a bit sore after the game.”