Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou baffled by reaction to silverware message | OneFootball

Spurs manager hit headlines with tetchy post-match interview after Arsenal defeat

Ange Postecoglou says he is confused by the reaction to his defiant post-match interview after Sunday's north London derby, and reiterated that he is aiming to win a trophy with Tottenham this season.

Postecoglou made headlines after the 1-0 loss to Arsenal by insisting, "I always win things in my second year," during a tetchy post-match interview.

Postecoglou has previous won silverware in his second year with four of his previous clubs and the Australian national team, and he defended his comments ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Coventry, insisting he was only "stating a fact".

"But, no, it's just confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer something that is true.

"Like if I don't win it in the second year this year and I come out next year and say 'well, I always win it', well, no, actually it's not true, but I've just said something that's true, and it seems like it's upset a lot of people for some reason.

"But do you really think it's me sort of boasting? How am I supposed to answer something that's true?

"Is it to say 'well, actually, no, it wasn't that important, they were easy competitions and they don't mean anything'. If you've achieved something, aren't you supposed to say ' yes, I have, and that's what I hope to do again'?

"I'm not really sure why people misconstrue it as me trying to boast about something. I've answered a question which I think somebody else brought up here anyway, before that, which is true. That's always happened and my plan is for it to happen again this year.

"And if it doesn't happen, then I can't answer that question in the same way next year, I can say 'mostly' not 'always'."

After the game, Tottenham's vice-captain Cristian Romero retweeted -- then swiftly deleted -- a message by an Argentine journalist claiming Spurs "gave an advantage" to Arsenal because they were "the only Premier League club that made their players come back from their national teams without their own logistics [organised by the club]", leaving their players "with less rest than the others".

Romero featured in Argentina's World Cup qualifying defeat to Colombia on Tuesday and travelled back on a flight arranged by the world champions over Wednesday.

National teams are obligated to arrange their squad's travel back from international fixtures but clubs occasionally put on private flights for players if they need them to return sooner.

Postecoglou said: "It was mentioned to me but it wasn’t mentioned to me before the game.

"I knew nothing about it. The players got back on Thursday and we had a Sunday game. No one reported anything other than the usual checks of people coming back from international duty so prior to the game. No one said anything."