Tottenham are facing a battle to finish in the Premier League top four this season, following a poor run of form.
Spurs have been in the conversation for Champions League qualification, but a defeat to Newcastle and then a loss to Arsenal in the North London derby dented their hopes.
With games in hand over top-four rivals Aston Villa, the Lilywhites could apply some pressure for a strong finish to the campaign.
Ange Postecoglou first had to navigate a clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but it was far from plain sailing for his side.
The Spurs manager has been bombarded in recent weeks with questions surrounding his team’s struggles when defending set-pieces, which doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon as both goals for the Blues came directly from a free-kick.
It leaves the North London outfit with a challenge on their hands to secure Champions League football, with a clash against title challengers Liverpool at Anfield next up.
Micky van de Ven on Tottenham’s Champions League chances
Following the defeat to Chelsea, Tottenham sit seven points behind Aston Villa with only one game in hand remaining.
It means Spurs will have to turn their form around quickly to land a top-four finish.
However, defender Micky van de Ven has admitted that it’s going to be a “difficult” task to usurp the Villains while looking ahead to the Liverpool clash over the weekend.
The Dutch defender told the official Tottenham website: “Of course, it’s going to be difficult [to finish in the top four].
“We’ve lost two [three] games in a row. It’s important we play a good game on Sunday [against Liverpool], and we play well in the upcoming four games…
“Of course it’s a difficult situation right now, and yeah, we lost our two big games in a row, it’s unacceptable how it happens.
“It’s important to keep our heads high right now because if everybody puts their head down now, it’s not gonna be a good end of the season.
“We look back at these games and we will find the positive things about it. They’re learning moments about it and we come back strong out of it.”
Tottenham and Aston Villa fixtures compared
With such an intense race for the top four nearing the end of the season, the fixture schedule looks set to have an impact on both Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Both teams still have to face off against Liverpool, while the game in hand for Spurs is hardly easy as they welcome Manchester City.
With 12 points left for Postecoglou to grab with a seven-point gap, the challenge has only grown on the manager to find results and quickly.
