Every word Postecoglou said on his Tottenham future, keeping Romero and next season being different

Ange Postecoglou had plenty to say in his final press conference of the Premier League season after Tottenham's 4-1 loss against Brighton on Sunday.

In a buzzing atmosphere following the Europa League final triumph and parade, Spurs opened the scoring with Dominic Solanke's composed 17th minute penalty after Mathys Tel was tripped in the Brighton box. Tel then had a great chance to double the score late in the first half only for Bart Verbruggen to save well from his low shot.

The hosts visibly tired greatly in the second half and Brighton grabbed an equaliser early on as a ball hit Solanke from a corner and bounced to Jack Hinshelwood to smash into the roof of the net. Hinshelwood netted again after the hour with a clever backheel from another corner.

Then Matt O'Riley scored from the spot, firing the ball inside the right-hand post after Yves Bissouma brought down Diego Gomez with a late challenge. Brighton's fourth came when Gomez curled in a shot from distance only for the Tottenham fans to respond with the entire stadium singing 'Oh when the Spurs go marching in' as they waved their flags, knowing this week was not really about this match.

After the game, Postecoglou and his players were given a guard of honour from various Tottenham legends as injured skipper Son Heung-min and the team paraded the Europa League trophy.

After that our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Did the team just run out of steam after the past few days?

Yeah. The emotion of the last three days, aside from the game itself. Obviously the players were allowed to celebrate that but irrespective of that the emotions of the last three days meant it was always going to be a tricky one for us. First half we competed well. We could've had a second goal which would've made it easier for us. Even second half Brennan's got a good opportunity but you could tell last 35 minutes we ran out of legs and kind of understandable for the players.

What did you make of that reaction from the fans to the fourth goal?

They've been outstanding with us this year. They've obviously given us some difficult moments for sure and like any supporter they want their team to do well. They don't like losing games like we have been. The backdrop of that was we've given them a night and a couple of subsequent days that will live with them forever. That was always the main driver and I'm super pleased for all we've been through this year as a club and our supporters have been through. I think the overriding emotion this year will be how they've felt in the last three days.

You said previously you hadn't succeeded in unifying the club. Where are you at with that now after seeing the scenes in recent days?

Yeah look I think it's fair to say the last few days have shown how the club can be when it is united. It's a massive club. It's got such a massive reach. People are very passionate about it, you've seen the outpouring of emotion over the last two or three days, what it means to people. That's something we need to build on, we need to tap into. Moving forward, when we're all together like that, it shows the force of the club. That's what a trophy does. That's what doing something like we've done in the last couple of days does. It just means people feel that extra connection and want more of it.

Would sacking you jeopardise the unity between club and fans we have seen over the last few days?

I will be honest I have been finding it really weird talking about my future when we have done something unprecedented. I have had to answer the questions because no one else at the club is in the position to do so I guess. But I can’t answer that question about me and my future. Like I said, part of me is thinking ‘why am I even being asked that question?’ But it is what it is.

I have got no doubt though that this could be a real defining moment for this club because wherever I have been I have made an impact where I have brought success to a club that hasn’t had it for a while. You just have to look at those clubs' trajectory even after I left, they are still competing for things. I really think this is a moment in time where this club could push on and be a real contender for honours on a yearly basis.

Why will next season be better in the league?

From my perspective, I made decisions that I felt were giving us the best chance of achieving the goal we needed to achieve this year and that has affected our league form. If people don’t want to take that into account, then there is nothing I can say to explain it any better than that.

I came to the club and we had finished eighth. I didn’t take over a club that had finished second. They had no European football to speak of. Lost the one player who probably guarantees you European football. That was my starting point. At the end of two years, I’ve got the club a trophy it has been crying out for, Champions League football, we finished fifth last year. Either people are saying ‘last year it was a huge anomaly for us to finish fifth or this is what we deliver right.’

I have got no doubt next year we will be in a much stronger position, challenging for the top places. I have got no doubt we will tackle the Champions League with the same determination that we tackled the Europa League. I have no doubts about that. If people are seeking any more evidence about me, then there is nothing I’m going to say that’s going to convince them if they haven’t seen it in the last two years.

The injuries have been a key part of this season, is that an area that needs to change?

I've already said that's part of it, but also, as I said, we signed three teenagers at the start of the year. Like we signed two 18 year olds and a 19 year old. We went in that direction. If you think about who left last year, players with experience. So whenever you do that, there's always going to be a little bit of a gap in the development. So that cascading into our injury situation at the start of the year, obviously had a massive effect on what we could do in the league..

And again, it was our success in the Carabao Cup and our success in the Europa League that added to that as well. So you either assess it all in its totality or you just separate and say, well, you know what, it's just not good enough, or it's unbelievable. So you either fall into those categories.

But at the start of next year, we will be in a much better position from the point of view of even the three young boys we signed, even though Lucas is not a young boy anymore, he's going to be a massive contributor at the start of the year. You know, that wasn't the case, Archie and Wilson's hardly played this year.

And if we do some good business in the transfer market, obviously brings some experience in, I'm not talking about age, I'm talking about players who have played at this level and can help the team, then I've got no doubt we can make the impact we want.

How important are those experienced players with the Champions League to come?

Yeah, I think not just us but any club that gets into the Champions League, I think understands that. It's the most elite competition in Europe and it's a great demand. So yeah, I think every club that gets into the Champions League sees it as an opportunity to strengthen with experience is the right word, but players who have played at that level, who are going to be comfortable at that level, not players who are stepping up to that level. That's the difference.

There are other futures to sort, Cuti Romero has been heavily linked with a move. How key is it to keep him and do you feel you can be the man to convince him to stay?

Yeah, look I think Romero is absolutely important to keep at this football club. You just saw the way he’s been in the last (weeks) and he hasn’t been fully fit to be fair with his toe, but you’ve seen he’s a World Cup winner. He is a winner. You saw that in all the big games we’ve had and the lads certainly respect him very highly. He makes them walk a bit taller, so yeah from my perspective it is a no-brainer that making sure players like him (stay), because if he goes, who do you replace him with? There is not too many out there like him. It will be very important for the club to try and retain him, and retain him for the longer-term I think.

What is your gut feeling?

You know my gut feeling? My gut feeling is I feel right now that I’ve done something that no one believed I could. And I shouldn’t be sitting here talking about it (my future). That’s my feeling, but it is what it is. As I said I am and probably I am talking now because I’m tired, mate. I have to think about another game and I just want to go on a break and enjoy my family and reflect on being part of something unbelievably special, unbelievably special. I’ve been fortunate to be in this position a number of times, but seeing those scenes Friday and people have reached out and talked to me about how it has affected them what has happened over the last couple of days. It’s a beautiful thing and I just want to enjoy that. To be honest the rest of it? You know I don’t even want to be talking about it. I just think it is unnecessary.

We don’t want to be asking it, but there is this vacuum at the moment?

No, you’re right to ask the question but you’re asking the person who can’t give you that answer. And I guess, even for you guys, you wouldn’t be asking it if there wasn’t a doubt, right? But I can’t answer it. There is nothing I can say that will answer that question. Other people can, so from my perspective, it doesn’t diminish the achievement. Like I said, I am so confident about what we can build at this football club and I want to push on and take it to the next level. We’ll see whether that happens.

You knew the history of the club when you arrived, has the reaction of the fans in recent days even surprised you?

I think, especially the parade, it's just been overwhelming, but I understand it, because when you think about 17 years without any sort of silverware, that means, you know, you work it out, what's that 50 games a year that these supporters have supported their football club with everything in their heart, and they haven't been able to enjoy a day like they have, for those whatever, 900 games, whatever they are, they know what they are.

And not only that, they've seen other clubs do it, which doubles the pain, and they've had no experience where they can you know, reflect on it for themselves, for everything they've been through. So I understand it. I knew that. There were the legends out there, and they're still remembered because of that and there's been a lot of footballers that have come through these doors since then, world class footballers, but they haven't made the impact that this group has and I think they'll be remembered for that.

I love how it's made people feel, it's filled a massive hole that they've had for so long, that they now can proudly say their club is a trophy winner. It's a champion of a competition. There is no more this slight of 'you're a great club, but you've never won anything', that's done and I'm super proud of that.

Click here to read article