Tottenham boss Postecoglou not shaken by 'Spursy' comments

Spurs' habit of failing to fulfil their potential and wasting favourable positions across matches and seasons, has been dubbed "Spursy" by irritated fans. The north-Londoners, trophyless in 16 years, have stuck stubbornly to that script in their first two seasons under Ange Postecoglou.

They wasted a golden opportunity to qualify for the Champions League last year and have made an rocky start to the current campaign. Postecoglou's side blew a 2-0 lead over Brighton to lose 3-2 in their last game before the October international break. But this was far from a one-time occasion, in fact, it was the 10th time Spurs have lead by two or more goals and subsequently lost in the Premier League era.

Saturday's London derby against West Ham comes with unpleasent memories of the team blowing a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 in four yeas ago. Postecoglu has acknowledged success is now imperative to lift the mood, though he has equally said that he deems criticism to be irrelevant. "You say it's 10 times but it hasn't been 10 times with me so give me a break. Let me get to 10 and then start putting tags on, but you have to accept that, right?" the Australian told reporters during his press conference on Friday.

"People will always find easy ways, if you've got a wound, to stick their finger in that wound and if you're not prepared to accept that when things haven't gone well, make sure things go well," he added. "There is one way to change that. If we want to change the perception of ourselves, it will not come because of, 'please don't call us those names', it will come because we're proving we're a team that can be relentless in our approach and be successful."

Postecoglou joked that he was ready to "explode" when Tottenham's players returned from their respective national sides for his debrief about the Brighton catastrophy. "The second half was more around we just didn't look anything like ourselves. We were really passive with and without the ball. We lacked real conviction and courage in everything we did," he said. "I hadn't seen that before in us and it's a good lesson for the whole group that you need to make sure, irrespective of how a game is going, you stick to the core principles of your football."