Europa League: Ange Postecoglou believes even a title might not silence Spurs critics

A lot riding on Tottenham's quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou at the end of the Premier League match against Chelsea. AFP

Beleaguered Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou accused the club's critics of excessive negativity as he prepared for arguably the most important game of his nearly two seasons in charge.

The Spurs manager has come in for sharp criticism this season with the club languishing in the lower levels of the Premier League. However, they can still redeem themselves in the Europa League.

Tottenham host Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of the quarter-final on Thursday with suggestions that Postecoglou's future at the club could depend on whether or not he can salvage a poor season by winning the trophy.

The London club got ready for the clash with a 3-1 league win over bottom club Southampton at the weekend but even after that win, Postecoglou was grilled about Brennan Johnson being denied a hat-trick.

Johnson was keen to take a late penalty with the score 2-1 but it was instead given to Mathys Tel.

"We scored, we won. Delighted. It's incredible. It's the one bit. Literally turning gold into crap when it's Tottenham. If we're 2-1 up and we get a penalty late on, I want our best penalty taker to take it," Postecoglou said on Wednesday.

"I just think we're in that position now where even the good stuff we do is going to be turned into a glass half-empty rhetoric. The one slight against this club is that it hasn't been a winner. The winners' mentality in the last minute is to score. We scored and somehow, in this alternate universe, everything Tottenham does is negative."

Bundesliga side Frankfurt won the Europa League in 2022, beating Rangers in the final on penalties, and they represent a tough challenge for Tottenham.

Spurs fans have not had much to celebrate this season, but Postecoglou hopes the home crowd can help create a raucous atmosphere in the 60,000-seat arena on Thursday, similar to the one Arsenal fans produced against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Tottenham have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2008 and have not reached a European quarter-final since 2019 when they went on to reach the Uefa Champions League final and lost to Liverpool.

Postecoglou said even if he does end that trophy drought, it might not be good enough for some detractors.

"I just think you can't win the argument of convincing people. Even if we win [the Europa League], I am gone anyway. That's just the general sentiment of the people," he said.

"If you try to use that as a motivation, you are not going to win anyway. It's got to be something more in it for us."

Frankfurt go for glory again

Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike is finally flourishing and has his club dreaming of another Europa League title.

Frankfurt won the competition in 2022 and while that side, coached by now Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, rode a wave of emotion all the way to defeating Rangers on penalties in the final, this season Frankfurt seem a more well-rounded team.

Amid a blend of established stars like captain Kevin Trapp, experienced veterans like World Cup winner Mario Goetze and an array of future stars, Frankfurt's main man is 22-year-old Ekitike.

Having endured an unhappy time at Paris Saint-Germain before joining Frankfurt in the winter window in 2023/24, the striker from Reims in France's Champagne region is now in sparkling form.

Nowhere was his particular set of skills more evident than in the second leg of Frankfurt's last-16 clash with Ajax, which the Eagles won 4-1.

Ekitike showed his finesse with a deft assist to set up Frankfurt's opener for Jean-Matteo Bahoya, before blasting in a long-range effort of his own to seal the result midway through the second-half.

His hat-trick in France U21's 5-3 win over England in March showed Frankfurt are once again in possession of one of Europe's brightest forward talents.

Omar Marmoush, who moved to Manchester City in January, became the latest of a production line of talented forwards which includes Randal Kolo Muani, Luka Jovic, Sebastian Haller, Andre Silva and Ante Rebic.