00:00Spurs face a do-or-die second leg against EZ Altma in the Europa League last-16, a match
00:09that could define not only their season but also Ange Postokoglou's tenure at the club.
00:17After a disappointing first-leg display, Spurs know only a win will keep their European hopes
00:22alive. For a squad still building under Postokoglou, progression could provide a crucial boost
00:28in confidence and their silverware pursuit. But failure to advance might raise fresh questions
00:34about the project's direction and the pressure to deliver tangible success. I spoke to James
00:41Trenbath of London World to get the latest ahead of the match as Spurs prepare for one
00:46of their biggest nights of the season.
00:48James, let's start by looking at the EZ Altma fixture. Obviously, first leg, loss away from
00:55home. Spurs in that game fielded a fairly strong side, knowing that the fact it's sort
01:02of the last chance, the last thing to play for this season for Ange Postokoglou and his
01:07side coming out of the cup competitions in the same week would have hurt as well. I mean,
01:13the league form hasn't been great, not much great to talk about this season. This Altma
01:19game was massive. Let's start with the first leg. What did you think from that game? Because
01:23I mean, there's a few clips circling around of the more experienced players who you've mentioned
01:28throughout the season haven't been great. They were trying set-piece tactics, etc. And it wasn't
01:33coming off at all for them. I mean, it looks really, really tough to digest as Spurs fans
01:39must have felt so disappointed and really frustrated. But I'm guessing that's a feeling
01:45that you've had sort of throughout the whole campaign.
01:48Yeah, it kind of sums up the season, doesn't it? I mean, we'd had eight days break. We fielded
01:53a very, very strong side for the first game there. And we just didn't turn up, did we?
01:59Simple as that. And that seems to be an epitome of Tottenham, to be honest with you. In the biggest
02:04moments, in the biggest games, we often go missing. And a lot of the key players went missing.
02:11I mean, looking at the set-piece debacle with Maddison and Song, where they sort of rolled it
02:18back to each other, got it all wrong, confusion reigned, and that kind of just summed everything
02:22up. We didn't have a shot on goal until the 87th minute. And even that was a cross-cum-shot from
02:27Wilson Odebere. We looked absolutely toothless, very, very nervy. The talk of the pitch being a
02:33little bit bumpy and bobbly. But I mean, come on, we're Premier League players, world-class
02:40players in many respects. We can't be looking at the pitch as a leveller. Credit to AZ. I thought
02:45they did play very, very well. They've been pretty strong at home, actually, in the Europa League
02:49this season. But I think from a Spurs point of view, it was just extremely disappointing. Biggest
02:53game of the season. And we just didn't turn up. It's as simple as that. And it was a microcosm
02:59of the season in a nutshell. We conceded a shambolic own goal. He was unlucky, Lucas Bergvall.
03:06The one thing that you will say about Bergvall is he didn't hide. He didn't let that affect his
03:10performance. And he was still one of the better players on the night. And I think that just shows
03:14his character. But the whole thing is just a mess at the moment. And I think, unfortunately for Ange
03:21now, he's running out of excuses. We've had mitigating circumstances around the injuries.
03:26But those injuries are now starting to clear up. Yes, one or two players are obviously finding
03:30the feet. And they need time to get back to form and fitness. But he's got a good pot to
03:36pull from now. And I think there's a lot of question marks to be answered for the second leg.
03:43On that second leg, it's not common. It's not usual that a whole season can ride on the Europa
03:52League. That 16th second leg at home, that sums it up as it is. The home form hasn't been great.
03:59What needs to change? What needs to be really different from that first leg and from the
04:05whole season to make sure spurs are in the last eight? There's a lot of pressure off the pitch
04:11as well, the protests, etc. And then Ange's tenure, of course, as you mentioned there.
04:17Is it a case of just put things aside for the one night, get the result and move on?
04:22What do you see from this second leg? There's huge pressure surrounding this game.
04:27It's a cliche, but it's a cup final. It's the biggest game of the season. It's the only game
04:30of the season that's got anything left on it. We need to have every player in the team available,
04:35fit and firing and really dying for the cause, you might say.
04:40Everything's on this game, including the manager's future, in my opinion.
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