Ange Postecoglou has provided an update on his future as Tottenham Hotspur head coach. The 59-year-old faces an uncertain future in the dugout despite leading Spurs to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League.
While the Lilywhites have impressed on the European stage, they're still yet to break into the top half of the Premier League table. With nine games of the season to go, Tottenham are 14th – and they're nearly as many points from the relegation zone (17) as they are from Chelsea (15) in fourth.
Unless Postecoglou gets his hands on the Europa League trophy, Spurs will be without European football next term. This would be a major blow for Tottenham, who earned £56.2m just for reaching the Champions League round of 16 in 2022/23 – excluding additional matchday revenue.
With the club set to miss out on millions, Postecoglou, who sees his contract expire in June 2027, faces an uncertain future. Speaking to Optus Sport ahead of Spurs' clash against Chelsea on Thursday night, he provided an update on his future.
Sending disgruntled supporters a message, he said: "I've always said I hate telling people how they should feel. There's no doubt that a large portion of Tottenham fans have lost belief in what we're doing.
"I think they were encouraged by what they saw last year for sure, and that hasn't manifested itself. I'm still optimistic and bullish about the squad we've got. There's enormous growth in them once we can navigate through this and being through a tough time... surviving tough times can be such a strong uniter of people.
"Because you think there's nothing down the track which will be anywhere near as bad as what we've gone through. We've survived and we've stuck together.
"Part of that is people will see aside from the obvious - the disappointing results - they still see a squad there which I think is exciting. I guess the biggest way we can influence that is by giving them hope.
"Still got things to play for in Europe and we've got to try and finish the season off in a positive way," added Postecoglou. "It's been a tough season. There's no hiding from it. It hasn't gone anywhere near the levels we wanted.
"We started off with goals and ambitions around what we wanted to achieve. There's frustration that we've seen glimpses of what we want, but then enormous setbacks and our inconsistency - particularly in the league.
"We've performed well in the cups, better than last year, but in the league we've been nowhere near it. There's obvious reasons for that, but even within that context, it's just a really disappointing season."
In an official statement announcing the club's financial results for the year ending June 2024, Daniel Levy outlined the importance of winning the Europa League. The Tottenham chairman said: "As we announce our financial results for the year to 30 June 2024, we currently find ourselves in 14th position in the Premier League, navigating what has been a highly challenging season on the pitch.
"We are, however, in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. Winning this competition would see welcome silverware and mean qualification for the UEFA Champions League. We must do everything we can to support the team in these final key stages."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson at the club said: "UEFA prize money was £1.3m (2023: £56.2m) reflecting the difference between not participating in European competition in the current year and reaching the Champions League Round of 16 in the prior year.
"The prize money in the period is a final account payment relating to the prior season’s competition."