The Sun

IT IS the worst ‘big match’ in Premier League history.

The first time that two of English football’s so-called elite have met at such an advanced stage of the season with both clubs languishing in the bottom half of the table.

Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur, anyone? Or glory, glory, Man Utd for that matter?

Not when the two clubs contesting this underachievers derby head into the weekend in 13th and 14th positions. And by kick-off at 4.30pm on Sunday, that could even read 15th against 16th.

If Sky are billing this as Super Sunday, they will be doing so with tongue firmly in cheek. And neutrals tuning in will feel like rubber-neckers at a car-crash site.

Not since both clubs were relegated from the top flight in the 1970s have either experienced quite such a dire campaign.

In the Big Six era, we have never seen the like. Only Chelsea’s meltdown in 2015-16 compares to the season either Spurs or the Red Devils are suffering.

And this is no sudden implosion like the one which ended Jose Mourinho’s second Stamford Bridge reign. For United and Spurs, this represents a reckoning after years of flawed decision-making and chronic mismanagement.

Losing has become a bad habit for both, seeing them overtaken by smaller clubs such as Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton and Fulham, as well as a resurgent Nottingham Forest under former Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

Ange Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged Spurs ended a horror run of one point from seven games with victory at Brentford in their last league outing.

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But they have been dumped out of both domestic cups since.

United have lost five of their last six league games at Old Trafford, and even though their away form has been better under Ruben Amorim, this has been a shocking season even by the dismal standards of the post-Ferguson era.

The similarities are glaring.

Two tactically-dogmatic managers wedded to their philosophies, intransigent in the face of defeat — Postecoglou’s compulsion for playing out from the back, Amorim’s adamance that his 3-4-3 is non-negotiable.

Two rare English overlords in the boardrooms, both giving foreign owners a good name.

Spurs fans will protest against Daniel Levy, yet his reputation for penny-pinching looks absurd when held up against Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting since he became a minority owner at Old Trafford — where another raft of demoralising backroom redundancies is in the offing.

Two squads bereft of confidence, both lacking effective on-field leadership, where senior players have failed to grasp the nettle, meaning promising youngsters are unable to thrive.

Is there any way out of this death spiral for either club? And just how low could they fall?

At least the bottom four are so distant that relegation should not be a serious concern. It is easier to argue the case for a swift turnaround in fortunes at Spurs and Big Ange has been doing so in every media appearance.

Tottenham’s injury list has been extreme — losing a first-choice keeper, an entire back four and a quartet of attacking players would send most teams into a nosedive.

Not that this excuses home defeats by Ipswich and Leicester, nor the manner of their gutless capitulation at Anfield in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg as Liverpool cruised to a 4-0 win.

But United’s early struggles under Amorim are a positive for Postecoglou — proof that changing managers in mid-season doesn’t necessarily provide a bounce.

Spurs have the modern infrastructure which United crave.

Yet their magnificent stadium suggests a shiny new Wembley of the North at Old Trafford is unlikely to have any positive impact on United's long-term playing prospects either.

The struggling North London club have also recruited promising young players in the last two windows, a path Ratcliffe intends to follow.

Everyone wants a long-term plan but in the knee-jerk ‘now culture’ of the Premier League, how soon is the future?

Tottenham have already defeated United twice this season — a 3-0 drubbing at Old Trafford and a crazy 4-3 victory in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

With some fit-again reinforcements expected, a third success over their fellow crisis club could be mood-altering.

For United, the picture is more bleak.

There is no battalion ready to rise off the treatment table.

Indeed, after loaning out Marcus Rashford and Antony in January, without recruiting any replacements, there is a serious dearth of attacking players in Amorim’s squad.

The Portuguese boss must limp through to the end of the season, hoping for another miraculous Cup run like the one which gave Erik ten Hag a reprieve last year.

And then perhaps a major summer revamp — not that several similar revamps have worked at United in recent years.

Could the Europa League represent a lifeline for either club?

Earlier this season, Mourinho — who managed both — declared that the Red Devils and Tottenham were the two firm favourites to win the Europa League, due to the Premier League’s economic clout.

This ought to be true but the reality is different. No English club has won Uefa’s second-tier competition in the last five seasons, with only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United reaching the final during that time.

For now, though, we have a meeting of glum and glummer — a macabre circus, with the losers sentenced to further humiliation and ridicule.

Roll up, roll up, for the greatest sewage show on Earth.

THIS is the awkward moment King Charles asks Son Heung-Min if Spurs are “in good order” in front of Daniel Levy.

The unlikely meeting occurred as the King visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday.

His Majesty arrived at the north London arena to great fanfare.

And he was met by Spurs chief Levy before getting a tour of the stadium.

On his travels, King Charles bumped into Tottenham captain Son.

The South Korean star and teammates are enduring a woeful season under manager Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs lie 14th in the table after winning just eight of their 24 league matches.

And last week saw them dumped out of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup within the space of several days.

Tottenham are now preparing to face Manchester United at home on Sunday.

And speaking to Son, King Charles asked whether Tottenham felt confident about their chances.

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But the encounter was made all the more awkward by the fact that Son was being watched by Spurs supremo Levy in the background.

King Charles initiated the conversation by asking: “So who are you playing this weekend then?”

Son answered: “We are going to play against Manchester United on Sunday.”

The King then asked: “Have you got a good chance?”

Son replied: “I hope so!”

His Majesty continued: “Is the team in good order at the moment?”

Son pondered the question before answering: “We are in a difficult moment but we are working hard.”

The King quickly asked: “Are you?”

Son replied simply: “Yes.”

Fans responded to the awkward moment on social media.

One said: “Levy at the back.”

Another declared: “I hope this guy lifts a trophy before he leaves.”

One noted: “At least he’s honest.”

Another added: “King Charles is too funny.”

TOTTENHAM are the subject of takeover interest from a consortium of Qatari investors, according to reports.

But the new potential owners could give chairman Daniel Levy a controversial role.

The investors are reported to want complete control of the North London club.

However, according to The Guardian, they are willing to hand Levy a long-term contract to continue running Spurs as executive chairman.

Levy, 63, has come under heavy scrutiny from fans after a dismal season has left Spurs down in 14th in the Premier League table, with fans chanting "Levy out" in the stadium.

He has been the man steering the ship at the club since 2001, when current majority owners Enic bought 29.9 per cent of the club from Alan Sugar before gaining full control six years later.

Following the construction of a new £1billion stadium, Spurs' annual income has been boosted to more than £500m, making them one of the richest clubs on the planet.

It is this expertise the new investors are seeking to retain.

That means Levy's job would remain effectively unchanged even if Enic, who now own 86.91 per cent of the club, become a minority shareholder.

The proposed buyout has a number of model plans for how it could take place.

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One of these is a phased takeover.

Spurs are valued at around £3.75bn.

Tottenham have been openly seeking outside investment for some time, with suitors in America and the Middle East taking particular notice of the opportunity.

Levy himself has held talks with several Qatari parties without closing a deal.

The identity of the Qatari-bidders is unclear, but the report adds the group are private investors rather than the government-backed Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) or Sheikh Jassim who tried to buy Manchester United.

QSI discussed a naming-rights deal with Tottenham for their new stadium before approaching them for talks about a minority ownership share.

In 2023 the Financial Times reported how Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi was preparing a bid.

FAIR to say Tottenham fans are conflicted about Ange Postecoglou right now.

Alarmed by the team’s slide down the league and last week’s exit from the cups, some are beginning to question whether he is the right man for the job.

Most understand that his crippling crock crisis has decimated his season, and many feel it is only fair to judge him properly when he has his key men back.

Numbers crunched by SunSport have shown Spurs have had it far worse with injuries this term than any English club competing in Europe.

Though others feel it is not enough to explain away the awful league form and have serious reservations about how open the team can be, particularly in midfield.

Ultimately, the only person’s opinion that really matters is that of the man who does the hiring and firing - chairman Daniel Levy.

The supremo, who turned 63 on Saturday, has never had a problem dismissing bosses before, having axed 12 permanent managers previously in his 25-year tenure.

Yet he has resisted the urge to make a change this season despite Spurs plummeting to 14th and exiting the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Levy himself is believed to have sympathy for the severity of the injury situation, with ELEVEN first-team players sidelined against Aston Villa on Sunday.

It is a big factor as to why Postecoglou is still in a job and expected to remain so going into Manchester United at home on Sunday.

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But there is a good argument to be had to believe Spurs will likely keep faith with Postecoglou for the remainder of the campaign at the very least - barring an absolute disaster.

Beyond the hierarchy’s understanding regarding injuries, there is the fact that the club are still in the Europa League, which, when they have their stars back, they have a genuine chance of winning.

That would not only provide them a route back into the Champions League but also end their 17-year trophy drought.

Victory last weekend at Brentford has allayed any fears of being sucked into a relegation fight.

The gap to the drop zone is ten points and given the big-hitters are returning, it is fair to expect the dire league form only to improve from here.

Crucially, Postecoglou is believed still to have the players behind him.

Star player Dejan Kulusevski was emphatic in his response as to why the 59-year-old was still the right man for Spurs when speaking to the media a fortnight ago.

The Swede replied: “Because we had games when we showed perfect football.

“Football that not many teams can play in the world. We played beautiful games against United, against City 4-0 so I think he is the right man.

“We play for him. We want to win for him and to be honest we have similar ideas.

“I am very positive as a guy and I always want to play that football he wants.

“I have to fight for him because I believe in that football too. Yes, I think he’s the right man.”

As difficult as the last ten days have been, victories over Elfsborg and Brentford proved Postecoglou can still get results even with his absentee list being in double figures.

Making a change before the end of the season would likely result in the embarrassing scenario of a caretaker having to be put in charge again.

That potentially could be Ryan Mason for a third time, after short stints following Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte’s exits.

That is because to lure a permanent successor, such as Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth or Kieran McKenna from Ipswich, two bosses understood to be appreciated by the Spurs’ higher-ups, mid-season is viewed as very difficult to pull off.

There would also be the factor of having to pay off yet another manager, with Postecoglou contracted until 2027 and believed to be on £6million a year.

Levy in particular has found himself to be Public Enemy No1 in recent weeks with fans relentlessly calling for him to go during the Villa game.

The heat is already mainly on him but it would be on him and him alone if he axes yet another manager.

All of this is not to say that Postecoglou is bullet-proof between now and the end of the season, by any stretch.

Lose the players or see his relationship with Levy break down and it would likely be terminal for the Aussie.

While the pressure to deliver will crank up when his players return and absentees can no longer be an excuse, as legitimate a one as it has been these past few months.

But there has been a desire from the Spurs’ hierarchy to give Postecoglou time - perhaps more time than his predecessors - to prove he is the man for the task.

So for the Spurs fans who have had enough already and are calling for change before the season is out, Levy’s uncharacteristic resolve so far would suggest they should not bank on it happening.

THE mood inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is likely to be mutinous - from BOTH sets of fans.

Anger has only grown among the Spurs and Manchester United supporters as their clubs’ seasons of debacle have continued to plummet downhill in recent weeks.

At best, it will be 14th versus 13th, with Spurs having suffered morale-sapping and embarrassing exits from both domestic cups last week and United having escaped by the skin of their teeth against Leicester.

Two clubs that have lost their way and all conviction.

It means the pressure on Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim is mounting.

But you do not need a long memory to recall that we have been here before, for the same two clubs, barely three years ago.

On that occasion, the loser “won”. Because it brought a change of manager and, for a few months at least, a sense of direction.

While the winner missed out on the obvious managerial replacement, staggered on for three weeks before bowing to the inevitable, and ended up more than 30 points behind their two most bitter rivals.

October 30, 2021. United coming to N17 on the back of a 5-0 home drubbing by Liverpool, with just one point from their last four Prem games.

Under the rocking, ragged, and doomed reign of a genuine Old Trafford hero, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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Spurs, just a few months under the helm of Nuno Espirito Santo, who appeared to end up with the gig because nobody else wanted it after the forced departure of Jose Mourinho the previous season.

While Nuno’s possession-lite tactical approach is working a dream at Nottingham Forest this season, it had already set the Spurs fans on edge.

They made no bones about their wish to see a team that wanted the ball, not wanted to play a less enjoyable version of the same reactive football that had been on offer under Mourinho.

When Spurs lost three London derbies on the bounce, scoring just once across them and conceded three in each game to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal, before wins over Villa and Newcastle, it felt like the next blip would be the final one.

A week before, that blip came. Another derby defeat, 1-0 at West Ham.

The heat was on. And Nuno - and his team - melted.

It was only when Marcus Rashford scored United’s third, four minutes from time, after earlier goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani, that the home fans stopped chanting for Nuno’s head.

But only to turn their ire on chairman Daniel Levy - a groundswell of disgruntlement with him which has barely abated since.

Levy acted in the way many club bosses do when the fans turn on them - he sacked Nuno and replaced him with Antonio Conte - the man who would have been the preferred candidate to replace Solskjaer had United lost.

Solskjaer was, by then, long gone. In the initial aftermath, reflecting on a “difficult week”, the Norwegian said it showed that the club and fan-base “connected together”.

Within three weeks, that had unravelled, a crushing 4-1 loss at Watford bringing the end.

Of course, Conte’s relationship with Levy and the club foundered and eventually splintered into tiny bits, the incendiary Italian dropping a nuclear bomb in the dressing room the following March and walking away to leave the ashes of the fall-out for others to fix.

In truth, Postecoglou still had all that to deal with when he arrived, plus filling the giant Kane-sized hole in his squad.

Last season, despite a slew of injuries, fifth place was a massive step forward. This term, with the injury situation even worse, has been a debacle.

Yet it has been little better for United under Amorim, with just 14 points in his 13 Prem matches, merely three more than Spurs over the same period.

And unlike Postecoglou, whose belief that his side will pick up results when the massed ranks of the injured brigade return to active service does have some credence, the past few weeks appear to have shown what this United side really are.

Able to play when the pressure is off away from home. Utterly incapable of performing when they have to “make” the game at Old Trafford.

So far, it seems that neither board will push the button at this stage - although a gutless mauling by either team could bring a change of heart.

Yet where things were bad in October 2021, they are arguably worse ahead of this meeting of the miserables. Two clubs, united in despair.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU was left with his head in his hands after being grilled about Tottenham's alarming form.

Spurs' season went from bad to worse last Sunday when they were dumped out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa.

The fourth-round exit came just three days after they were battered in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie with Liverpool.

Postecoglou has shown signs that Spurs' woeful form is getting to him on several occasions this season and did so again when it was put to him that his troops aren't playing in his image.

After putting his head in his hands, the Aussie said: "I don't know how else to explain it.

"I don't know how else to explain it if you can't see that this team is just trying to play its hardest in the most extreme of circumstances.

"Two and a half months of asking 18-year-olds and 17-year-olds and senior players, with no rest, to play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday.

"I'll keep going for two-and-a-half months and if you think that is not at all a factor of how this team is performing then there's nothing else I can say.

"There's nothing else I can explain."

When asked if it's wise to stick with his current style of play, the 59-year-old added: "No, because they're tired mate.

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"Do you think they can press like [we would]. If we hadn't played Thursday night and I hadn't rotated that team we wouldn't have been pressing aggressively today?

"Fair chance, unless you don't think they're human beings.

"Unless you're superhuman and you think no, after playing Liverpool on Thursday night they should be flying tonight. It doesn't happen. They're human beings.

"Why do you think Liverpool and others rotate 11 players? Why? There's a reason and I wish I could do the same.

"So you can bring a freshness to the team. Of course they're not playing anywhere near the levels that we want or expect, but that's not because they're not trying.

"It's because they can't. I think this group of players once we get the rest of the group in, will be an outstanding team.

"I have no doubt about that. Whether other people can't see that, that's of no interest to me.

"If you want to measure anything on what they're doing at the moment, other than the extreme situation they're dealing with then I think your analysis is skewed and it's not objective. That's my opinion.

THE misery just continues for Ange Postecoglou.

Although the moment his team conceded after 58 seconds with his keeper producing a howler, the beleaguered Aussie must have known it was going to be another rotten day.

His spell as Tottenham manager is now turning into a proper nightmare.

Three days after Spurs were annihilated by Liverpool in their Carabao Cup semi-final, Postecoglou’s team were beaten fair and square by Villa and the situation is becoming toxic to a point where a change is inevitable.

Jacob Ramsey’s first minute goal was followed by the second by the outstanding Morgan Rodgers’ in the 64th minute.

Tottenham’s new striker Mathys Tel, who did not have a kick all game, set up a nervous couple of minutes with a lovely finish in injury time but anything other than a home win would have been a robbery.

As the home fans celebrated the second goal, Marcus Rashford arrived as a substitute for his debut along with fellow new boy Marco Asensio.

Rashford’s first action was to accidentally elbow Kevin Danso in the head with the Spurs defender needing treatment.

Yet for the on-loan Manchester United forward, he is only just getting his feet under the table at his new club although how much longer Postecoglou remains at Spurs is the big question.

Aston Villa’s fans sang ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning.

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Meanwhile, Tottenham’s increasingly angry supporters sang for chairman Daniel Levy to leave their club. In fact, they chanted it nine times during the game.

Although they were a bit better in the second half, this was still poor from Spurs. Postecoglou should survive for next Sunday’s home match against Manchester United and then an away trip to Ipswich.

Again, you had to have sympathy for Spurs as they were without an entire team. In total, 11 players were out plus the cup-tied Dane Scarlett.

They have been forced to put out the type of team Liverpool decided to do at Plymouth - but every week.

The only blow for Villa was the first half loss of Ezri Konsa, their only available centre-back, went off with an injury and he was replaced by Lamare Bogarde, the nephew of Winston Bogarde who famously flopped at Chelsea.

Yet Villa’s defence were hardly given a tough test. And Tottenham’s manager will have hoped his team would, at the very least, remain solid at the back while finding their feet in the game.

Instead, they were put on their backsides in under a minute.Rogers had too much space when receiving a pass from Youri Tielemans.

He navigated his way past Lucas Bergvall - a bit too easily for the Tottenham manager’s liking you would image - and threaded a pass through to Ramsey with Spurs right-back Pedro Porro having gone walkabout.

Ramsey took the ball into the area with his first touch and while his shot was not particularly good, it still squeezed through keeper Kinsky. What an utter disaster for Spurs.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would have expected that the club’s fans, at some stage during the evening, would be chanting for him to leave the club.

But even he would have thought this would occur a bit later than only the second minute.

Spurs struggled to get the ball out of their half and they kept handing Villa chances on a plate.

New Villa arrival Donyell Malen blazed his shot into the North Stand while visiting keeper Kinsky, in fairness, did push away a decent shot from Leon Bailey

As Tottenham’s fans sang: “‘we’re f****g s**”, Tielemans had a free run on goal before his strike bobbled wide while Ramsey also dragged a shot beyond the far post.

In their only meaningful attack of the first half, Spurs should have scored but Son Heung-Min struck his effort at Emiliano Martinez after an outstanding first-time pass from Mikey Moore.

In fact, the finishing from both teams was pretty rubbish. Bailey shot straight at Kinsky, Ramsey hit the post with the follow-up while Malen hammered an effort into the side netting in first half stoppage time.

Spurs did improve after half-time although they could not be any worse.

Son was denied by a decent block from Bogarde, which is something we did not see from his uncle all those years ago, although he only played 12 times in four years in England before leaving in 2004.

Ramsey should have made it 2-0 but Kinsky struck out his right arm to save.

Yet with Rashford and Asensio waiting to enter the field of play, Villa got the second when Porro scuffed a clearance from Malen’s cross and Rodgers had an easy finish.

Spurs defender Danso had a terrific chance to pull a goal back but he somehow missed the target from close range.

Rashford had a chance at the end but Archie Gray took the ball off his foot.

And then Mathys Tel delivered a cracking finish in stoppage time to put away Kulusevski’s cross.

Yet for Spurs, it was far too little, too late.

ON Thursday night, after covering Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Tottenham, I pulled into a service station on my way home and bumped into a big group of Spurs fans.

It was nice of them to say, but to me, that is embarrassing.

Fans of a club like Spurs think a retired 36-year-old – who has never played at a club at that level – is what is needed.

I was briefly linked with a move there in 2020 when Jose Mourinho was boss. It never materialised.

But do I think I could have made a mark on that club, those players? Yes, because I don’t pussyfoot around. It doesn’t matter if it is Jose at Spurs or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

I know I wouldn’t be a starter, but I could impact a culture, by training to the best of my ability, calling out people who are late to meetings or not pulling their weight.

I would get in that dressing room, shut the door, and take a sledgehammer to it – metaphorically, of course – to show them what we need to do.

Losing a Carabao Cup semi-final – one that was so important to the club – in that manner is entirely on the players.

In games gone by with Spurs, you can blame the boss Ange Postecoglou, his tactics, the set-up is too gung-ho. But at least then they have had a bit about them.

At Anfield, I was speaking to a few ex-Spurs players – proper legends. I asked them: Are you seeing what I am seeing? I thought I was being too harsh in my analysis.

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One of them turned to me and simply said: No character, no fight, no chance.

As captain, Son Heung-min was null and void. At 0-0 – and 1-0 up on aggregate – the team looked nervous but there was no belief they were ever going to win.

When it goes to 1-1 on aggregate, the same thing. No reaction, gone into hiding, doing the opposite of everything you should do in that moment.

After Cody Gakpo’s goal in the 34th minute, while all the Liverpool players were celebrating, I would have got everyone in and told them: The next 10 minutes, we kick it into the corner and solidify until we get to half-time.

Instead they self-imploded. They played quickly from kick-off before everyone was set. They conceded a stupid corner. No one took responsibility.

I would get in that dressing room, shut the door, and take a sledgehammer to it – metaphorically, of course – to show them what we need to do.

That midfield of Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr is meant to be a decent trio, but not one of them put their foot on the ball and said: Don’t worry, I’ll keep things ticking over.

It was left to the kids to show a bit of leadership in Djed Spence and Archie Gray – a bit of quality, fight, determination. They weren’t great, but at least they didn’t quit.

Anyone who has played the game will tell you most of those Spurs players quit, gave up. Not on each other or themselves, but quit on the manager, the fan base, everything.

I made headlines by once saying Arsenal lacked ‘cojones’, but just look at this Tottenham team. They bottled it. They collapsed through fear.

If that group look at themselves in the mirror and say: ‘We gave it everything’, then they’re liars. They’re lying to themselves and they’re lying to the fans.

And that’s why they are where they are.

How many of those players will admit any of that performance was their fault? I’ll tell you: zero.

Where are the leaders? I was in the tunnel at full-time around all the post-match interviews. I only saw one player do one, and that was Son. Other than that, Ange did all of them.

That to me says it all. One of the experienced lads should have taken a few of those off the manager’s hands. Take ownership.

If you’re an average player and get the chance to move to Spurs, you would be buzzing. You get paid extremely well, really nice stadium, good fans and there’s no pressure to win anything. Perfect, right?

They beat Brentford last week and celebrated like they had won the FA Cup. They beat Swedish minnows Elfsborg in the Europa League and were posting on social media about ‘togetherness’.

Where are all those posts now? You know what they do? They run, they’re scared. This is the problem, not just with Spurs, but with the new footballer.

They only want to hear the good stuff. They want to be pally-pally.

When people talk about Tottenham now, what do they say? Oh what a lovely set-up. The training ground, the facilities, the stadium is world class.

In other words: Weakness. Softness. Comfort.

I played with Richarlison at Watford. He is naturally a rough and ready bloke. A ‘you’re going to get it’ player. He would run over you to get the ball. A scrapper. The same when he left for Everton.

Spurs then bought him for £50m to change their culture, but because everything is so nice and laid on, you subconsciously become that type of person. It creates weakness.

I remember talking to a rugby friend of mine at Saracens. He said when they went away with England, they would stay in a four star, not a five, purposely to make them a little bit uncomfortable.

That will make you strive for more. What are you striving for at Spurs?

If you’re an average player and get the chance to move to Spurs, you would be buzzing.

It’s the best place to be. You get paid extremely well, really nice stadium, good fans and there’s no pressure to win anything. Perfect, right?

TOTTENHAM have announced their renewed Europa League squad... and there are a few surprises.

Spurs punched their ticket straight into the Last 16 after finishing fourth in the league phase.

The North Londoners were allowed to make three changes to the squad ahead of the knockouts.

Manager Ange Postecoglou added two January signings in Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel.

Danso, 26, moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on loan from Lens with an obligation to buy for around £21million.

Tel, 19, also joined on loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy for about £52m, which would then lead to a six-year contract.

The forward initially rejected Tottenham but changed his mind after a long phone call with Postecoglou, who won him over after he explained how he plans to use him on the pitch.

Danso and Tel were joined in the Europa League squad by Djed Spence, who has shone bright this season amid Spurs' injury hell, as the third change.

Postecoglou had to make two major omissions to make space for the aforementioned trio.

That led to Timo Werner and another January signing in Antonin Kinsky being axed.

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Kinsky, 21, joined Tottenham from Slavia Prague after a £12.5m deal as an emergency transfer following Guglielmo Vicario's injury and a series of gaffes from back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster last month.

However, Vicario is expected to return from an ankle injury and Postecoglou decided to have Brandon Austin as the Italian shot-stopper's back-up after also axing Forster.

Werner has fallen down the pecking order following a series of below-par performances.

The winger, who earns about £200,000 per week amid his loan stint from RB Leipzig, recently received some brutal criticism from Postecoglou, who claimed: "He wasn’t playing anywhere near the level he should”.

The Germany international is also dealing with a hamstring injury, which could have contributed to his omission.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU declared Mathys Tel WILL be a Tottenham player beyond the end of the season.

The French striker, 19, completed a deadline-day loan move from Bayern Munich to Spurs, who hold a £45million option to sign him permanently.

German reports had suggested the player could still choose not to join the North Londoners in the summer, despite that option.

But SunSport understands Tel is happy to stay should Spurs trigger it and a six-year contract has already been agreed.

Asked if he could clear up the confusion and if Tel would remain at Tottenham beyond the current season, bullish Postecoglou replied: “He'll be a Tottenham player.

“I think he'll show everyone he's going to be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn't bring him here for six months.”

Tel has been cleared to make his Spurs debut at Liverpool tomorrow having trained and received his work permit.

The same goes for 26-year-old centre-back Kevin Danso, signed on loan from RC Lens on Sunday, who is likely to start the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

Tel had initially rejected a switch to Spurs when a straight £50m deal was on the table.

But he had a change of heart on Monday, having had a persuasive exchange “purely about football” via phonecall and on text over a couple of hours with Postecoglou.

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The Aussie joked: “I felt that if I kept him on the phone long enough, I would wear him down. He was falling asleep by the end!

“I got a sense pretty early on that there was a connection there and he was hearing what he wanted to hear. It is a big decision.

“He is a 19-year-old man at a fantastic football club. They would have been quite happy to keep him there I am sure but he also knew he needed to play.

“But not just play. Play where he is going to develop. I think it is a credit to him that rather than just jump at what came at him, he was very thorough in the way he made his decision.”

Tel had interest from other clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, but was convinced, in the end, by Spurs.

Postecoglou said he was “100 per cent” certain Tel is happy to be at Spurs and sees the move as a coup for Spurs, who are in all cup competitions but 14th in the Premier League.

The ex-Celtic boss added: “He is very, very exciting.

“When you meet him you realise he’s got that bit about him as a person who has enormous self-belief and confidence in what he can do and what he wants to do.

“Even though he’s young, physically he’s already in a place where he can take on the enormous challenges of being an attacking player in the Bundesliga and I think he can handle the Premier League.

“He’s a goal-scorer, he can take people on, he’s got speed.

“I’d be very surprised if there was a club that wouldn’t be interested in somebody like him.”