Ange Postecoglou saluted his leaders after Tottenham kept their season alive with a 3-2 aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
The pressure was on Spurs and Postecoglou after a 1-0 loss in the last-16 first leg in Alkmaar, but the Australian’s big call to start Wilson Odobert paid off with the 20-year-old scoring in each half to open his account for the club.
Tottenham vice-captain James Maddison, on the day before Thomas Tuchel names his first England squad, struck at the start of the second half in a fine display to lift the gloom in N17 despite Peer Koopmeiners’ 63rd-minute goal briefly bringing the tie back level.
Defeat would have all but ended Spurs’ campaign with nine weeks of the season still to go after a difficult winter period where they were hampered by injuries, but this 3-1 success sets up a last-eight tie with Eintracht Frankfurt next month.
Postecoglou started his leadership group of Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Maddison and captain Son Heung-min for the first time since October 19 and they all responded with strong displays on a crucial night for the club.
“I think all those four leaders felt like it’s their time now. It’s been really tough for them, it’s been really tough for all of us, the whole club but particularly the players,” Postecoglou said.
“It’s the first time – somebody said – since October we’ve had our four leaders on the park; Vicario, Romero, Maddison and Sonny. So much this year we’ve relied on one or two of those, but to have all four of them out there makes a difference for us.
“I thought they all led the team well. We did look more like ourselves, but we’ve still got levels to go, because I still think players like Romero, Micky (van de Ven) and Wilson and Dom (Solanke) and all these guys are still building their way up to match fitness and match sharpness.
“With the quarter-final being three-and-a-half weeks away, there’s an opportunity for us to get these guys up to speed for that game.”
Scrutiny on Postecoglou was at an all-time high with Tottenham 13th in the Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions.
Even though the 59-year-old insisted he can block out the noise, he acknowledged the stakes were high, but was thrilled with how his squad reacted in a high-pressure situation.
Postecoglou added: “I think the way we handled it tonight was important. As much as you try to block out the outside noise and it doesn’t bother me, I’m sure the players and the whole club was aware tonight was a big night for us.
“When you are already 1-0 down you can get really anxious about it, but I never felt that. Up until we sort of gave them the first goal, I thought the lads had handled it superbly.
“Yeah, on what was a big night, I couldn’t be happier with the way the players tackled it and it’s a credit to them.
“I think I’ve said consistently that when we’re at our best we can compete with anyone.
“We get an opportunity now to build up some players and, hopefully, we’ve still got some significant talent out and they could be coming back. All of that will be helpful for us reaching the levels that we need.”
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