Tottenham face a do-or-die second leg against AZ Alkmaar — a match that could define not only their season but also Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at the club. After a disappointing first-leg result, Spurs know only a win will keep their European hopes alive. We hear from James Trembath of London World to get the latest ahead of the match, as Spurs prepare for one of their biggest nights of the season.
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00:00Spurs face a do-or-die second leg against EZ Altma in the Europa League last-16, a match
00:09that could define not only their season but also Ange Postokoglou's tenure at the club.
00:17After a disappointing first-leg display, Spurs know only a win will keep their European hopes
00:22alive. For a squad still building under Postokoglou, progression could provide a crucial boost
00:28in confidence and their silverware pursuit. But failure to advance might raise fresh questions
00:34about the project's direction and the pressure to deliver tangible success. I spoke to James
00:41Trenbath of London World to get the latest ahead of the match as Spurs prepare for one
00:46of their biggest nights of the season.
00:48James, let's start by looking at the EZ Altma fixture. Obviously, first leg, loss away from
00:55home. Spurs in that game fielded a fairly strong side, knowing that the fact it's sort
01:02of the last chance, the last thing to play for this season for Ange Postokoglou and his
01:07side coming out of the cup competitions in the same week would have hurt as well. I mean,
01:13the league form hasn't been great, not much great to talk about this season. This Altma
01:19game was massive. Let's start with the first leg. What did you think from that game? Because
01:23I mean, there's a few clips circling around of the more experienced players who you've mentioned
01:28throughout the season haven't been great. They were trying set-piece tactics, etc. And it wasn't
01:33coming off at all for them. I mean, it looks really, really tough to digest as Spurs fans
01:39must have felt so disappointed and really frustrated. But I'm guessing that's a feeling
01:45that you've had sort of throughout the whole campaign.
01:48Yeah, it kind of sums up the season, doesn't it? I mean, we'd had eight days break. We fielded
01:53a very, very strong side for the first game there. And we just didn't turn up, did we?
01:59Simple as that. And that seems to be an epitome of Tottenham, to be honest with you. In the biggest
02:04moments, in the biggest games, we often go missing. And a lot of the key players went missing.
02:11I mean, looking at the set-piece debacle with Maddison and Song, where they sort of rolled it
02:18back to each other, got it all wrong, confusion reigned, and that kind of just summed everything
02:22up. We didn't have a shot on goal until the 87th minute. And even that was a cross-cum-shot from
02:27Wilson Odebere. We looked absolutely toothless, very, very nervy. The talk of the pitch being a
02:33little bit bumpy and bobbly. But I mean, come on, we're Premier League players, world-class
02:40players in many respects. We can't be looking at the pitch as a leveller. Credit to AZ. I thought
02:45they did play very, very well. They've been pretty strong at home, actually, in the Europa League
02:49this season. But I think from a Spurs point of view, it was just extremely disappointing. Biggest
02:53game of the season. And we just didn't turn up. It's as simple as that. And it was a microcosm
02:59of the season in a nutshell. We conceded a shambolic own goal. He was unlucky, Lucas Bergvall.
03:06The one thing that you will say about Bergvall is he didn't hide. He didn't let that affect his
03:10performance. And he was still one of the better players on the night. And I think that just shows
03:14his character. But the whole thing is just a mess at the moment. And I think, unfortunately for Ange
03:21now, he's running out of excuses. We've had mitigating circumstances around the injuries.
03:26But those injuries are now starting to clear up. Yes, one or two players are obviously finding
03:30the feet. And they need time to get back to form and fitness. But he's got a good pot to
03:36pull from now. And I think there's a lot of question marks to be answered for the second leg.
03:43On that second leg, it's not common. It's not usual that a whole season can ride on the Europa
03:52League. That 16th second leg at home, that sums it up as it is. The home form hasn't been great.
03:59What needs to change? What needs to be really different from that first leg and from the
04:05whole season to make sure spurs are in the last eight? There's a lot of pressure off the pitch
04:11as well, the protests, etc. And then Ange's tenure, of course, as you mentioned there.
04:17Is it a case of just put things aside for the one night, get the result and move on?
04:22What do you see from this second leg? There's huge pressure surrounding this game.
04:27It's a cliche, but it's a cup final. It's the biggest game of the season. It's the only game
04:30of the season that's got anything left on it. We need to have every player in the team available,
04:35fit and firing and really dying for the cause, you might say.
04:40Everything's on this game, including the manager's future, in my opinion.