Ange Postecoglou

LONDON — Ange Postecoglou insisted he won't let abuse from Tottenham fans affect him, after the beleaguered Spurs boss denied goading his tormentors during Thursday's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.

Postecoglou endured chants of "you don't know what you're doing" from angry supporters when he sent on Brennan Johnson and Pape Sarr for Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall in the second half at Stamford Bridge.

It was not the first time in recent weeks that Postecoglou has felt the wrath of fans who are growing disillusioned with the Australian in his second season in charge.

Tottenham is languishing in 14th place in the Premier League after Enzo Fernandez's 50th minute header condemned it to a 16th defeat in 30 top-flight games.

The north London outfit is without a win in its last four league games, and is in danger of its worst finish since the 1993-94 season, when it came 15th.

But, as speculation that he could be sacked grows after a second successive defeat, Postecoglou is adamant he won't lose sleep over the jibes from fans.

"It doesn't bother me. It's not the first time they have booed my substitutions," he said.

"If that's what the fans feel, if they feel I'm not doing a good job, they have every right to express it. They pay their money, they follow the club. They are the ones who will be here long after I have gone.

"It doesn't affect me. What I try and focus on is the things I can control. I can't control the fans. I can control our football, and that's what I concentrate on."

Prior to VAR ruling out a potential equalizer from Sarr, Postecoglou had gestured to the Tottenham fans, cupping his ear in a defiant move that was seen as a response to their criticism.

Insisting that wasn't the case, the former Celtic boss said: "Jeez mate. It's incredible how things are interpreted. I wanted them to get excited and enjoy what we thought was a goal.

"I'm at some disconnect with the world these days if you want to read into it that I was trying to make a point. I was just trying to get some excitement."

'It's killing the game'

Postecoglou turned his own frustration on VAR for taking so long to make two decisions that 12 minutes of stoppage time was needed in the second half.

"It's not the same game it used to be. You are standing around for 12 minutes. It's killing the game, but no-one cares about that, they just love the drama and controversy," he said.

"They're not interested that it's killing the spectacle. It's crazy, it's madness. But, we accept it and have to take the fallout."

Postecoglou's hopes of avoiding the sack could rest with winning the Europa League, with the quarterfinal first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt looming next week.

But, for Tottenham to end its 17-year trophy drought and fulfill Postecoglou's boast that he always wins a major prize in his second season, there will need to be a significant improvement on this patchy performance.

"We conceded a really poor goal. We have been doing that too often. It's been costing us. That was disappointing," he said. "I thought our response was really good. We scored, and that got ruled out, then we had a couple of chances at the end."

Like Postecoglou, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has come in for criticism lately, but his team is in a much healthier position than Spurs, after climbing back to fourth place.

Chelsea is one point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

"The result is an important one, because we are close to the end of the season," Maresca said.

"If we want to become an important team we need to win in an ugly way, so I'm quite happy.

"If you measure the result, then, for sure, if we achieve Champions League, it's an important thing. But, from my point of view, since the first day, I think the team is getting better and better."