FURIOUS Ange Postecoglou snapped as he saw Spurs collapse 2-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last night.
The former Celtic boss flew into a rage and fired an x-certificate volley at his under-performing players as they came close to blowing any remote chance of a place in next season’s Champions League.
The volatile Greek-Australian, who quit the Hoops for the London club in June last year after winning five domestic trophies in his two seasons in Scotland, winced as he saw Trevoh Chalobah head the hosts into the lead in the first-half with Nicolas Jackson adding another after the interval.
GRIM…Ange Postecoglou stares at reporter in post-match interview. Image courtesy Sky Sports.
The defeat was Postecoglou’s side’s second in five days following the 3-2 loss against Arsenal. It leaves them stuck in fifth spot, seven points adrift of Aston Villa. A fourth-place finish now looks a long way off.
In the 32nd minute, with the score at 1-0, Postecoglou was caught on Sky Sports firing four-letter blasts at two of his players.
Aiming his angry comments at Cristian Romero and Pape Sarr, he screamed: “Pape, stop passing it f***ing backwards! Pass it forwards! You, pass it forwards.”
Gary Neville, on Sky Sports’ commentary, said: “He’s having a right go at Sarr and Romero. He’s snapped!”
Postecoglou did not get the reaction he demanded and, in the 63rd minute, made a triple substitution as he sent on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur for Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison.
He looked resigned to defeat after Jackson added the killer second goal.
THE LAST HURRAH…Ange Postecoglou in happier times as he holds aloft the Scottish Cup at Hampden on June 3 – his last appearance as Celic manager.
In the post-match interview, Postecoglou fumed: “It wasn’t good enough and I have to take responsibility for that, it is on me. I am the manager and I am the one putting them out there and it was not good enough.
“When we put in a performance like we did in the first-half it meant my message wasn’t getting through.”
Asked what message he was trying to get across to his players, Postecoglou replied: “Come on, mate, we didn’t play well.
“Do you want me to write you a dossier of where it went wrong?”
