Ange Postecoglou looking to push on after Tottenham finish fifth
Ange Postecoglou applauds the Tottenham fans after their final game of the season (Barrington Coombs/PA) (PA Wire)
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League is a good achievement in his first season but insisted he has “lofty ambitions”.
Spurs confirmed their place in next season’s Europa League with a 3-0 win at relegated Sheffield United on the final day of the season.
Dejan Kulusevski’s double and Pedro Porro’s strike ensured they finished above Chelsea.
That represents progress in the first season after star striker Harry Kane’s departure and they will look to push on next term.
“It is a great challenge in the Premier League and taking over a big club that didn’t have a great year last year, you understand it is not going to run smoothly,” Postecoglou said.
“I have enjoyed the whole season. I have got some lofty ambitions for the football club and until we reach that point I am not going to be smiling too much.
“I have enjoyed it and looking forward to pushing on from here.
“I am obviously not delighted with the way we finished the season but in fairness to the players and staff we have been in the top five all season, in a year where there was a fair bit of upheaval.
“We finished eighth last year, player turnover, different football, different way of training, it is not easy to maintain a level when you are trying to do that.
“Even in our tough periods this year we have still been competitive for the most part. I think I have got maximum effort, which is all a manager can ask for.”
The Blades will be in the Championship after a horror season which saw them record the joint third-lowest points tally in Premier League history with 16, and the 104 goals they have conceded and goal difference of -69 are also records they will not be proud of.
They desperately wanted to go out in style but missed early chances and were punished at the other end.
Boss Chris Wilder said: “I’ve been sat in this position before and I am going to say exactly the same things I have said over especially the last eight weeks.
“We don’t take chances and then any opportunity the opposition gets to put us to bed they take. The first half an hour summed our season up.
“There was a familiarity of what happened, great chances, should be two up, then one mistake leads to two, to three.
“When adversity strikes we haven’t been able to dig our way out of it. The league has been too strong for us, we can’t get away from that.
“We have to work hard during the summer to get ourselves in the position Leeds and Southampton have got of giving themselves an opportunity to come back up.
“This is my biggest challenge that lies ahead, I am the most determined and committed that I have ever been to get right and create a team that everyone can recognise and represents us.”