Redknapp rubbishes Postecoglou sack claims as Tottenham boss is set target to save his skin

Jamie Redknapp has warned Tottenham they could be making a serious blunder firing Ange Postecoglou with no one obvious to replace him and with the Sky Sports pundit setting what he feels is a realistic target for the under-fire Aussie to prevent the situation worsening.

The pressure is building on the 59-year-old’s shoulders in the wake of a miserable run of form that has seen Tottenham pick up just one win in seven matches to leave them 11th in the Premier League table and seven points adrift of the top four. Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Chelsea, in which the side had let slip an 11th-minute 2-0 lead, has done him little favours either, with the loss adding salt to the wounds of recent unacceptable losses at home to Ipswich and away at Bournemouth.

And while Jamie Carragher has turned the screw on the Australian by admitting his reign is turning into a “nightmare” and that his “excuses are starting to wear thin”, his Sky Sports colleague Redknapp is adamant that Daniel Levy would be making a big blunder pulling the axe on his reign right now, explaining that success in the Carabao Cup is a realistic target for them this season.

“They have to win a trophy – that’s the stick they are beaten with. If they win a trophy this year it will give them confidence and belief that they can get top four,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“They need to change the history of this club. For too long they’ve had an attitude of not being successful and letting people down. Whereas if they win a trophy it will give Ange a bit of breathing space.

“They’ve got Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, they can win that. If you look at the winners of that trophy recently it’s either been Man City, Man Utd or Liverpool. Winning that is more important than finishing top four.

“The owners may disagree, but it would be great for the fanbase and the players.”

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Postecogolou sack? Tottenham told not to compromise on beliefs

Redknapp also doubts there is another manager out there who could appease Tottenham supporters and they need to think carefully about whom they appoint after some less-than-successful and more pragmatic choices in recent years.

“For a Tottenham fan, they had [Antonio] Conte, who was pragmatic; they had [Jose] Mourinho – didn’t work; they had Nuno [Espirito Santo] – didn’t work here.

“Now you’ve got to the complete opposite [end of the] scale and for Tottenham fans for 10, 15 games last season, they thought, ‘This is it, we’ve found it. This guy is going make us play beautiful football, expansive, we’re going to win’.

“You’ve gone from one extreme to the other and it feels like we’ve said the same thing for the last 10 years of coming to watch Tottenham.

“I just don’t know really which way they’re going to go next because if you sack him, then where else do you go?”

As well as facing Man Utd in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on December 19, they have also been handed a trip to non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup – the lowest-ranked side still left in the competition – given them a golden chance of winning through to the fourth round.

Postecoglou himself is also adamant that his players remain on side with his beliefs and that they still have a real sense of purpose despite recent disappointments.

“There’s still plenty to play for us in terms between now and January just to make sure that we keep performing,” the Spurs boss said

“I still sense within this squad there’s a real kind of conviction in what we’re doing, and if we maintain that, then we’ll turn our season around and hopefully at some point, we hit some smoother waters just in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment. Some of it’s self-inflicted, but hopefully, we can get some more consistency.”

Next Tottenham manager: Rival Prem manager linked

Meanwhile, with pressure building on Postecoglou, a report has suggested Spurs have already started to look at possible replacements – and Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna is a name that has figured prominently in recent days.

The Northern Irishman helped the Tractor Boys claim a shock win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this season – their only Premier League victory to date this season – and the former Man Utd coach also rejected the chance to move to Chelsea over the summer as they sought a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.

Elsewhere, speculation over the future of Tottenham captain Son Heung-min has also risen again over the weekend. Linked with a move to Manchester United last week, the 32-year-old, who looked visibly distraught at full-time on Sunday, has reportedly now offered himself to Barcelona.

On the incoming front, Tottenham are said to be readying an offer to land Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi who could be sold by the Italian champions owing to financial pressures.

Big Ange’s miserable record since going top of the Prem last season

Postecoglou got off to a flying start to his Tottenham reign, winning eight of his first 10 matches in charge, and drawing the other two, to ensure he made the best start ever by a debutant manager in the Premier League.

However, in the 43 matches since, Postecoglou has LOST more than he has won, giving him a meagre 42% win percentage record and ensuring he has only collected 60 from 129 points available.

It’s easy to see why the pressure is building and why questions are now being raised over his future.