Tottenham were found wanting in a lacklustre first-half performance against Chelsea and Ange Postecoglou’s frustrations turned to anger on the touchline, with the Spurs boss seen laying into Pape Matar Sarr and Cristian Romero after his side fell behind.
After back-to-back Premier League defeats at the hands of Newcastle and Arsenal, Postecoglou will have been desperate for a reaction from his players at Stamford Bridge, but it was nowhere to be seen in the opening 45 minutes.
Chelsea – also seeking a response after three games without victory – were much the better team before the halfway stage and the pressure told in the 24th minute in west London.
Trevoh Chalobah – starting his second game in succession – found the back of the net with a powerful header past Guglielmo Vicario and the goal was eventually given after referee Robert Jones’ long consultation with VAR.
Ten minutes later, an enraged Postecoglou could be heard barking orders from the edge of his technical area before Sky Sports’ cameras captured the 58-year-old completely losing it with Sarr and Romero, giving the pair the full hairdryer treatment.
‘Stop passing it f***ing backwards,’ Postecoglou appeared to yell before ordering Sarr and Romero press with greater intensity.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville, providing co-commentary for Sky Sports, appeared less than surprised by Postecoglou given the visitors had been ‘nowhere near it’ against their London rivals.
‘He’s having a right go at Sarr, he’s having a right go at Romero. He has snapped, Ange Postecoglou,’ Neville said.
‘The football that you would associate with his team has just not happened.
‘They’re nowhere near it in possession, Tottenham Hotspur.’
Former England midfielder Karen Carney, meanwhile, who had been sat just behind Postecoglou at the time of his fit of rage, said she had never seen the manager so emotional.
‘Angry Ange! Honestly, I’ve never seen him so angry and animated,’ she said while analysing Tottenham’s poor first-half display.
‘They played into midfield and kept giving it away and it really is about [Brennan] Johnson and Son [Heung-min] and they missed it.
‘They played into that, they lose possession and they give away this free-kick which leads to Chalobah’s goal.’
Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Chelsea, Postecoglou said he felt ‘the majority’ of his playing squad were still not true believers of his philosophy.
‘It’s inevitable at the start that most of it is happening because you’re telling them to do it, so at least I’m making an impact, at least they’re listening to me – that’s one box ticked,’ he explained.
‘But for it to truly evolve into something, it’s because the players believe it. And I’ve seen the players growing into it, but we’re not there yet.
‘In my experience, the true belief comes when you’ve got the majority of the squad and staff [to the point] where if I didn’t turn up, they would still go about things in the same way.
‘I don’t think we’re at the majority yet.’
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