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Tottenham have no plans to sack manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of a key set of fixtures despite the club’s worrying run of form.

Sunday’s 4-3 defeat to London rivals Chelsea means Spurs sit 11th in the Premier League – seven points off the top four – and with only one win from their last seven games in all competitions.

Earlier in the season, Postecoglou had boldly proclaimed that he will win silverware with the club this campaign, but the defeat to Chelsea represented an all-too-familiar defeat for his side.

Questions have also been asked of the Australian’s unbending commitment to his gung-ho attacking style, particularly as Tottenham continue to deal with several injuries throughout their side.

However, according to The Telegraph, Postecoglou has retained the support of the club’s senior hierachy ahead of what is a crucial run of fixtures.

The report adds that senior figures within the club are understanding of the injury crisis that has affected Postecoglou’s efforts.

January may well be a time to add reinforcements, with Postecoglou said to have already met with technical director Johan Lange to discuss the club’s plans.

Must-win games in the Europa League against Rangers and in the league versus Southampton are next up for Spurs before a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United.

Postecoglou’s side then host league leaders Liverpool before a trip to high-flying Nottingham Forest, managed by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

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Postecoglou has also been publically backed by Cristian Romero who said the players were still fully behind their boss.

‘He’s a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries,’ Romero, who came off in the second half on Sunday with a niggle, told Telemundo.

‘Players are the first one to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening.

‘We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play. We’ll try to move on quickly.’

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou rued the ‘hugely disappointing’ injury suffered by Cristian Romero during his side’s 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs threw away a two-goal lead as Chelsea beat their London rivals thanks to a brace from Cole Palmer and goals from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez.

Postecoglou named Romero and Micky Van de Ven in his starting line-up, much to the surprise of Tottenham supporters.

The pair have missed the last month of action through injury but they passed late fitness tests to start.

However, Romero lasted just 14 minutes on his return to action and was visibly distraught as he had to be substituted.

And Postecoglou admits the side may now be without the Argentine for another extended period following an injury to his leg.

‘Romero is just obviously hugely disappointing,’ Postecoglou said.

‘He felt something in his quad. He trained really well. He wasn’t the one I was worried about, to be honest, but it’s just the way the season’s going for us unfortunately.

‘So we just have to wait and see.’

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Van De Ven came off in the second half and was seen stretching his hamstring.

However, Postecoglou says the Dutchman’s removal was planned and that Brennan Johnson was suffering through illness.

‘Brennan just didn’t feel well. He didn’t feel well at half-time, but he wanted to give it a go, but he just wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, so I had to take him off,’ said the Australian.

‘And then, well, the plan was always for Micky to play 60, 70 [minutes] today. Obviously, I thought Romero would be okay to play 90, but Mickey, probably 60,70.’

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Cristian Romero has thrown his support behind Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou after their disappointing defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs raced into an early 2-0 lead against their London rivals but capitulated to a disheartening 4-3 defeat after a brace from Cole Palmer as well as goals from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez.

The result intensifies pressure on Postecoglou whose side sit 11th in the Premier League and have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions.

Despite promises to win a trophy in his second season, Spurs fell to an all-to-familiar defeat under the Australian, with Jamie Carragher suggesting that Postecoglou is risking getting sacked if he doesn’t change his ways.

‘There’s this idea of playing a pure game and the Tottenham fans singing “We’ve got our Tottenham back” but you won’t win anything, you won’t challenge,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports.

‘I wake up every morning hoping the sun is shining, so I can put some shorts and a T-shirt on but if it’s raining, you put your coat on. You can’t have this idea about playing one way, it won’t work. If it doesn’t change, he won’t be here next season.’

Romero, however, insisted his side are still happy under Postecoglou and said injuries were to blame for their topsy-turvy form this campaign.

‘He’s a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries,’ Romero, who came off in the second half with a niggle, told Telemundo

‘Players are the first one to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening.

‘We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play. We’ll try to move on quickly.’

Postecoglou, meanwhile, was still confident that his methods and tactics had buy-in from the players despite the lack of results in the last months.

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‘They are giving everything they can,’ he said after the game. ‘It diminishes performances as well because they probably need a rest but we can’t give them a rest.

‘I think it is something we need to tackle head on and keep pushing on. There is still plenty to play for us between now and January just to make sure we keep performing.

‘I still sense within this squad there is a real conviction in what we are doing and if we maintain that we will turn our season around and hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment.’

Spurs will look to get back to winnings ways in midweek when they travel to face Rangers in the Europa League.

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Arrow MORE: Jamie Carragher slams ‘absolutely braindead’ Tottenham star after Chelsea defeat

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Jamie Carragher labelled Yves Bissouma as ‘braindead’ after the Tottenham midfielder gave away a costly penalty against Chelsea.

Tottenham flew out of the traps at home against their London rivals, with early goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski putting them two goals ahead after 11 minutes.

Jadon Sancho’s superb long-range strike gave Chelsea hope at the break and Enzo Maresca’s side continued to grow into the game after the interval.

However, the Blues were given a gift when Bissouma gave away a penalty after flying recklessly into a challenge on Moises Caicedo.

Cole Palmer duly converted from the spot and later added a second penalty when he was bundled over clumsily by Pape Matar Sarr as Chelsea earned an impressive 4-3 win to move four points behind Liverpool.

Analysing the two penalties at full-time, pundits Carragher and Jamie Redknapp did not hold back in their critique of the Spurs duo.

‘Some of the things Tottenham players do is absolutely ridiculous,’ Carragher told Sky Sports when asked about Bissouma’s foul on Caicedo.

‘It’s a certain penalty. That is absolutely braindead. Who’d be a manager?’

Redknapp added: ‘Caicedo when he went central just started to run the game. Bissouma had 27 seconds of madness.

‘He’s not showing enough pace to get back in there. He dives into a ridiculous tackle. Absolutely ridiculous.’

And the former Tottenham midfielder was equally scathing in his criticism of Sarr’s challenge on Palmer later in the second half.

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‘You know how skilful he [Palmer] is,’ he said. That is so clumsy, that is so bad because this was the moment that cost them the game.

‘Ridiculous challenge, you just cost your team. That’s two ill-disciplined [tackles] from your two defensive midfield players.’

Posting on social media after the game, Bissouma apologised for letting down his teammates and fans and said: ‘I’m so sad for that mistake it’s burning me because we lost the game today from this mistake.

‘I feel sorry for my teammates staff and fans I take all the responsibility for that one I’ll learn from this one it’s time now to show the real me. Thanks for all the support.’

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Arrow MORE: Enzo Maresca highlights key reason why Chelsea aren’t ‘ready’ for Premier League title race

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Enzo Maresca said Chelsea are not yet defensively solid enough to challenge for the Premier League title after their 4-3 win over Tottenham.

The Italian has repeatedly rebuffed the suggestion that his side are contenders for the league title despite their promising start under his tutelage.

But after slip-ups from Arsenal and Manchester City on Saturday, as well as Liverpool’s postponed fixture against Everton, the Blues have daylight in second place and are just four points off top spot.

The manner of Chelsea’s win on Sunday, coming back from 2-0 down to win away from home against local rivals, may only serve to strengthen their title credentials in the eyes of some.

But for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, it merely reaffirmed just how much they still have to work on if they are going to contend for the title in forthcoming seasons.

‘We have still got a lot to improve on, when we’re ready to push for a title we won’t be 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes,’ Colwill told Sky Sports.

‘That’s the level we need to be at and that’s what we need to keep working on.’

And Maresca was quick to agree with his centre-back’s assessment, insisting that his side are still some way off being considered title hopefules.

‘No, exactly,’ the Italian replied when asked whether he agreed with Colwill’s comments about his side’s perceived lack of defensive solidity.

‘After the game, my message to the players was to be focused day by day, in our session, the next game on Thursday and then Sunday.

‘The main focus has to be to enjoy the day off and when we come back, 100%, train well, go for the game.

‘The fans can dream because from the outside, it is quite clear and inside, the reality is we are not ready but the important thing is we improve day by day.’

Maresca, who was noticeably passionate at full-time, was instead keen to take in the moment and what a big derby-day win meant for the fans.

‘We work every day for these kind of moments, celebrating with the fans,’ he added. ‘For sure, tonight was a derby and the way we are in this moment, we are all happy. To share that moment is fantastic.

‘We need our fans, home and away. I will tell them now in this moment that we need them against Brentford. It won’t be an easy game so we need them to help and push us.’

Jamie Carragher was another who suggested that Chelsea’s defensive options may hold them back as the season drags on.

‘I still look at the goalkeeper and two centre-backs, [Benoit] Badiashile who played today, and I just think I can’t see someone winning the Premier League with that goalkeeper and without a real standout centre-back,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.

‘I think you’d say City winning it with Ederson and [Ruben] Dias, Liverpool with [Virgil] van Dijk and Alisson, going back to Petr Cech and John Terry. those figures, you think, that you need to win a title, I still think Chelsea are a little bit short in those areas.’

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Arrow MORE: Marc Cucurella sends message to Chelsea fans after ‘schoolboy’ error vs Tottenham

Jamie Carragher has branded Chelsea star Marc Cucurella ’embarrassing’ after his double error in Sunday’s showdown against Tottenham.

Goals from Spurs duo Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski saw Chelsea trail 2-0 with just 11 minutes on the clock in north London.

Cucurella was partly at fault for both goals as the Spain international defender lost his footing and allowed his opponents to regain possession.

The 26-year-old ran to the touchline to change his boots after Kulusevski made it 2-0, which infuriated Sky Sports football pundit Carragher.

‘Cucurella’s coming to the bench, don’t blame anyone else – it’s your own fault son!’ Liverpool legend Carragher said on commentary duties.

‘Absolute schoolboy stuff. Embarrassing. He slips again. Look at him shrugging his shoulders. Did he not do a warm-up?’

Clinton Morrison, working as a pundit for the BBC, added: ‘It is brilliant. Cucurella is blaming his boots.

‘Look at yourself, you are the professional player. But from Kulusevski, that is a brilliant finish.’

Chelsea signed Cucurella from Brighton in a deal worth over £60m in the summer of 2022 and he endured a tough start at Stamford Bridge

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He faced lots of criticism from pundits, but has since turned his form around and has impressed this season under head coach Enzo Maresca.

Earlier this year, Cucurella took a swipe at the critics who ‘kept coming’ for him during his difficult spell when he first joined the club.

‘I had been at humbler teams before Chelsea and I got there at a time of change, a difficult time, with lots of players, lots of coaches,’ Cucurella told The Guardian.

‘It was [like it was] all my fault; they kept coming for me. People see the price and think you’re a machine that’s going to score 50 goals and provide 50 assists. That’s business between clubs: they agree [the fee], nothing to do with me.’

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Chelsea are looking to keep pace at the top of the Premier League heading into a huge London derby against Tottenham today.

The Blues have plundered eight goals in their last two games and head to north London in wonderful form, sat in second place behind league leaders Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca made seven changes against Southampton midweek, changes that paid off brilliantly as his side cruised to a 5-1 win Christopher Nkunku among the goal scorers.

Nicolas Jackson was given the night off but will be expected to return to the starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he scored a hat-trick last season.

Noni Madueke has been part of Maresca’s relatively settled attacking unit this season but the Chelsea coach took aim at the winger on Wednesday night.

Despite scoring and starting against Saints, Maresca accused the winger of taking his foot off the gas as soon as he ‘scores or assists’, dropped from the side last weekend as a result.

Elsewhere, Levi Colwill was also rested midweek and will likely return today. Wesley Fofana and Reece James are still ‘weeks away’ from being available again, with the Frenchman’s absence a blow at the back.

Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Aarabioyo have proven to be capable deputies this season with Axel Disasi also playing the full 90 minutes for the first time in the league this season midweek.

Mykhailo Mudryk is Chelsea’s only other fitness doubt with the winger struck down by illness this week.

Tottenham meanwhile are reeling from a midweek defeat at Bournemouth that saw away fans aim their ire at Ange Postecoglou post-match.

Dominic Solanke was back in the side on Thursday, playing the full 90 minutes after his recent illness absence.

Spurs are desperately short at the back and will hope to have Cristian Romero available again.

The Argentine has not played since October with a toe injury with Micky van de Ven also still not available. Should Romero not be deemed fit, Archie Gray is likely to fill in alongside Radu Dragusin.

Rodrigo Bentancur remains suspended with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario sidelined with an ankle injury.

Son Heung-min was rested against the Cherries midweek and will be expected to return to the starting XI today.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea

Forster, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Johnson, Son, Solanke

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Tottenham

Sanchez, Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson

Where to watch Tottenham vs Chelsea? Kick off time and TV channel

Tottenham vs Chelsea kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday 8 December.

The match will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Subscribers can also live stream the match on Sky Go and NOW TV.

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Ange Postecoglou will be sacked as Tottenham manager if the club are 10th or worse in the Premier League at Christmas, believes Jamie O’Hara.

Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at Bournemouth on Thursday night, leaving them with just one win in six games in all competitions.

That victory was a memorable 4-0 win at Manchester City, but Premier League form is a big concern as the loss to the Cherries was the sixth of the season already.

Spurs are 10th in the table and O’Hara reckons that position must be improved quickly or the Australian could be gone by the end of the month.

‘Look, I like Ange, I like the football he plays, I do. But, there’s a big but coming, but this is getting old, this football, in terms of set-pieces and playing out from the back,’ the former Tottenham midfielder said on talkSPORT.

‘Daniel Levy ain’t going to stand for this. I’m telling you now. If he thinks he can go all the way through the season and keep defending like this, keep having set-pieces like this, he will get sacked.

‘Daniel Levy is all about Champions League football, Europa League minimum. If Spurs are 10th in the table after Christmas, they will sack Ange. I’m telling you, they will sack him. This can’t continue.

‘I feel like he’s starting to run on thin ice. I need to see more. One from the players because the players again tonight let themselves down, but I need more from the manager.’

The 59-year-old went over to Tottenham fans after the game and seemed to exchange words with one in particular.

‘The fans have every right to be disappointed with the way it went tonight,’ he said. ‘I got some pretty direct feedback [on the pitch at the end] with the way that we are going at the moment and that is rightly so.

‘They are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at the minute where we can’t get a real grip on the season.’

Asked what the fan said to him, Postecoglou added: ‘Yeah, that’s probably not for here mate.’

Postecoglou has not been helped by a string of injuries to first choice players, with Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all out, while Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are all also sidelined and Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.

Spurs, incredibly, have five more games before Christmas, starting with a Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday.

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Paul Merson has stated that Chelsea ‘probably have the strongest squad in the Premier League’ ahead of their showdown against Tottenham.

Arsenal icon and football pundit Merson – a lifelong Chelsea fan – is backing the Blues to beat Spurs away from home in their next game.

Chelsea have been flying under head coach Enzo Maresca this season with some pundits insisting that they must now be considered title challengers.

The Blues are currently second in the Premier League table – above Arsenal and Manchester City – with Maresca’s team seven points behind Liverpool.

Chelsea have some top players in their squad, including Cole Palmer, who has provided nine goals and six assists in 14 top-flight games this term.

Speaking ahead of the west Londoners’ trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, Merson told Sportskeeda: ‘[Chelsea] have a good squad, probably the strongest in the Premier League.

‘But they played Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool this season and took just one point. That is why they are not contenders yet.’

Merson added: ‘If you’re a fan, Tottenham away from home is Chelsea’s biggest game of the season.

‘Chelsea lost in this fixture last season so this is a huge game. If they can win against Spurs, it will send a massive statement.

‘I won’t label Tottenham as one of the ‘big boys’ in the league but they are a team that can beat a lot of teams and we’ve seen that already this season.

‘If Chelsea secure a top-four finish and win a trophy, this would become a phenomenal season for them. Anything more than that would be incredible but unlikely.

‘Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham to be entertaining that’s how they try to play.

‘Chelsea have better players in nearly every position and may have too much for Spurs to handle. Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Chelsea.’

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Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham fans have ‘every right to be disappointed’ after he was subjected to fervent boos following the defeat to Bournemouth.

Spurs’ turbulent and chaotic season continued on Thursday night as they were beaten 1-0 by Bournemouth.

Dean Huijsen’s early header separated the sides at the Vitality Stadium but in truth Bournemouth should have won by more, wasting several chances to extend their lead.

Tottenham produced a brilliant performance to thrash Manchester City 4-0 just two weeks ago but the north London side have since drawn with Roma and Fulham and lost to Bournemouth.

The defeat on the south coast leaves Spurs just 10th in the Premier League, six points outside the Champions League places.

‘It is not good enough,’ Postecoglou told Amazon Prime. ‘We again fell into the trap of starting the game really well, we were in control and then we conceded a really poor goal.

‘Then we kind of lost our way a little bit and allowed Bournemouth to play the game that they wanted to. We had our moments in the second half but we could not get a goal.

‘I don’t know if they had more urgency but we have this sort of propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be controlling games.

‘They are hard to beat here and what you should not do is give them a goal that gives them the momentum they need.

‘We started to play with a bit more conviction at the beginning of the second half and made some good chances.

‘Again we made things difficult for ourselves by allowing the opposition to take the game in the direction that they want.’

Postecoglou faced intense boos as he went over to applaud the travelling away fans and appeared to exchange a few words with at least one supporter before heading back to the dug-out.

‘The fans have every right to be disappointed with the way it went tonight,’ he said. ‘I got some pretty direct feedback [on the pitch at the end] with the way that we are going at the moment and that is rightly so.

‘They are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at the minute where we can’t get a real grip on the season.’

Asked what the fan said to him, Postecoglou added: ‘Yeah, that’s probably not for here mate.’

The former Celtic boss then reiterated that he was not overly bothered by the negative interaction.

‘I’ve got no issue with it,’ he insisted. ‘I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it.

‘I’ve been around long enough to know that if things don’t go well, you’ve got to understand the frustration and disappointment.

‘They’re right disappointed tonight because again we’ve let a game of football get away from us. That’s ok, I’m ok with all of that.’

While it was a disappointing night for Spurs, Bournemouth’s promising run under Andoni Iraola continued as the Cherries climbed into the top-half of the Premier League.

Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said: ‘At home we are a force, even away from home, we press high and we don’t care about who the opponent is. Here the crowd gets behind us and our mentality is top.

‘It was frustrating that we had a few good chances, especially at the end, and didn’t score. Teams like this you have to finish them off.

‘Credit to the defenders though who did fantastically at the other end and it was another great win.

‘We have got so many exciting players. The club has done so well in recruiting big talents and we have so many options to come off the bench too.

‘The club is moving forward for sure, we have a new training ground coming, the owner wants to build a new stadium as well. We just need to keep building forward.

‘The sky is the limit, for sure. The owner wants to do big things, we have got a great manager as well, it is only positive things going forward.

‘After we beat Man City and Arsenal we went to Brentford away and it is teams like that which we struggle with sometimes.

‘We need to get up for those games, especially against the teams in and around us. This league is so tough and it is only getting better, which is scary.’

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