Andros Townsend thinks something that happened recently may have had a negative impact on Tottenham.
Spurs have endured a wobble under Ange Postecoglou lately with four straight defeats in the Premier League.
Of course, it has not been an easy run, as Spurs have faced Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, although the quality of defending has certainly provided cause for concern with 13 goals shipped in these outings.
Now – speaking on The Monday Night Club for BBC 5 Live Sport – Andros Townsend has suggested a potential reason behind Tottenham‘s poor form…
Andros Townsend makes UEFA Champions League comment about Tottenham
Well, Spurs could have secured a UEFA Champions League spot by finishing fifth if their Premier League rivals performed better in Europe this season.
However, due to the fact only Aston Villa reached a European semi-final this season, England have been left third in the coefficient table, with the extra slots going to Italy and Germany.
Townsend believes this might have got to Tottenham mentally.
The man who made 93 appearances for Spurs said: “I wonder whether the moment that we sort of got an inclination that England might not get that fifth place, I wonder whether that had a massive psychological effect on Spurs.
“In the first half of the season, all I was hearing was England will get the fifth place, England will get the fifth place, then all of a sudden, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen and maybe Spurs thought, oh, we are under a bit more pressure to finish in the top four now, which wasn’t the case before.”
Ange Postecoglou surely wasn’t thinking this way
Townsend makes an interesting point, although we have to disagree.
Back in January, Postecoglou spoke about his side as title contenders.
The Independent quoted the Australian as saying: “By definition we are, aren’t we? So yes we are, and I’ve said all along that until the point where you’re not, why would you even discount the possibility?”
Therefore, we highly doubt Spurs ever had fifth place as a primary target – even when it seemed like England would get that additional UEFA Champions League spot.
In our eyes, Tottenham have simply run out of steam, while some have proven they are struggling to adapt, such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Emerson, who could both be sold, according to the Telegraph.
Hopefully, Postecoglou can get his side going again next season – as they were a joy to watch at the start of the 2023/24 campaign.