While Ange Postecoglou has come under heavy criticism for much of the season, Oliver Glasner believes that the Australian deserves immense credit for what he has been able to achieve this campaign.
Glasner’s men consigned Tottenham to their 20th defeat of the league campaign, which is the most defeats Spurs have ever suffered in a single Premier League season.
It is not the sort of record that Postecoglou would have wanted, but the Australian will have a chance to become the first Spurs boss to win silverware since 2008 when the Lilywhites take on Man United in the Europa League final next week.
Postecoglou has blasted his critics for trying to downplay Tottenham’s achievements in Europe this season, and his Palace counterpart believes that the 59-year-old should get more credit.
Oliver Glasner on Tottenham’s Europa League achievement
Crystal Palace beat a weakened Tottenham side 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, but the Lilywhites have bigger fish to fry as they look forward to their first European final in six years.
Glasner knows what it takes to go all the way in the Europa League, leading his Eintracht Frankfurt side to the trophy two years ago.
The Palace boss pointed out that the North London club have done tremendously well to get to the final, given the number of injuries they had throughout the campaign.
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Glasner told Palace’s official website: “Congratulations to Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham for reaching the Europa League final.
“Tottenham had many injuries, many games to play, and I think they had many storms to overcome. It’s part of our job, but in the end, I really have a huge appreciation for Ange and how he dealt with the situation.”
Tottenham have been linked with a move to sign Oliver Glasner as a replacement for Postecoglou in the summer after such a poor domestic season.
Postecoglou’s legacy is entirely riding on the Europa League
While the injury crisis was clearly an extenuating circumstance for Tottenham this season, one cannot get away from the fact that this is now statistically the worst ever Spurs side in the three-and-a-half decades of the Premier League.
If Tottenham fail to win the Europa League, Postecoglou will unfortunately go down as a flop, despite his fifth-place finish last season.
However, his place in the Spurs history books will be secure if the Lilywhites manage to get their hands on the trophy and overcome their 17-year trophy drought.
It is not often that a manager’s legacy depends on just one game, but that is exactly the situation that Postecoglou now faces.