Ange Postecoglou declined to comment on whether he would return to Tottenham, amid speculation about interim manager Igor Tudor's future at the club. The Australian boss could only chuckle and provide a brief "no comment" when questioned about the possibility on Tuesday evening.
Postecoglou was dismissed by Spurs in June, just weeks after guiding the Lilywhites to Europa League triumph and their first silverware in 17 years. The 60-year-old subsequently took the reins at Nottingham Forest before being dismissed once more, and was working for UEFA at the Parc des Princes for Chelsea's loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
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However, with Tottenham's crushing defeat to Atletico Madrid still fresh, and his former club embroiled in a relegation battle, Postecoglou was questioned about Spurs' difficulties.
Speaking on TNT Sports, the former Celtic manager was asked if he was the least surprised person to witness Tottenham in their current predicament. He replied: "No, I wouldn't say that.
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"I am still invested in the club because I have an attachment to those players, I worked with them for two years. The last time I interacted with the fans there was 200,000 on the streets of London
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"It pains me to see it. It definitely looks like the players are fairly lost at the moment. There's obvious pressure there. It's a real difficult time.
"It all manifested itself with what happened last night. It's almost the worst-case scenario: you playing a side away from home, Atletico, who never drop below a performance level of two. They're always at a really strong level. It was a horror start for them"
Postecoglou reckons Tudor, who has suffered defeat in all four fixtures he has overseen, must try to alleviate the burden on his squad.
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"There is no way that anyone would say, objectively, these players are performing at the level they are capable of," Postecoglou added. "You've just got to try and ease the pressure on them somehow.
"Even last night, I thought it was a tremendous opportunity for them because they've done really well in the Champions League, they're on the good side of the draw. Atletico away is tough but you've still got to take them back to Tottenham but it just felt like the pressure was there.
"I'm sure they would have trained on the pitch the night before but the amount of times they were slipping over, I think that's still pressure. There's just a real desperation in everything they do.
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"Mentally, you're desperate and that manifests itself in a physical way. You're lunging for things, you're rushing things.
"It's hard for me to comment from the outside. For me it's just about instilling some belief into the players. Show them the kind of players that they are, not that they can be."