Ange Postecoglou will undoubtedly be disappointed after a lacklustre display at Fulham on Saturday evening.
The Tottenham Hotspur boss watched on as his side fell to a 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage.
It’s fair to say that Spurs were outplayed on the day, which will be a huge disappointment after the 4-0 win at Villa Park beforehand.
It leaves Ange Postecoglou’s side three points adrift in the race for Champions League qualification after Aston Villa picked up a point at West Ham on Sunday.
After the defeat, the Aussie boss was quizzed on his side failing to take an opportunity to move into the top four.
But Postecoglou insisted that finishing fourth isn’t the ‘prize’ and is much more interested in how his team has developed throughout the season.
And The Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman took issue with Postecoglou’s post-match comments, much to Sutton’s disbelief.
Sutton angry after what he’s heard about Postecoglou following Fulham defeat
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off!, Ladyman discussed Postecoglou’s comments on finishing inside the top four.
“It’s been a bad weekend for Tottenham,” he said. “We’ve touched on Ange Postecoglou and his slight sensitivity, shall we say, to be questioned about the 3-0 defeat at Fulham.”
“What do you mean sensitivity? I don’t think he was sensitive,” Sutton hit back.
Ladyman then added: “So when it was put to him about it being a bad weekend in Tottenham’s quest for a top-four place, he said fourth is not my goal. I don’t want to finish fourth if we haven’t grown and developed. It doesn’t give you anything for next year.
“Well, it does Ange. It gives you a place in the Champions League, it gives you money, it gives you greater leverage in the transfer market when it comes to attracting players.
“So, it does give you things. You’re talking about growth and development, getting into the Champions League is part of your growth and development.”
“You’re totally misinterpreting what he’s saying,” Sutton responded. “He’s not saying it in the manner which you’re… you’re twisting it. You’re twisting my melons [he joked]. You’re twisting his words.
“That’s not what he’s meaning. He spoke about this a lot when he was north of the border at Celtic, about performance and progress being the key factor.
“He’s not just looking at a league position, or a fourth-place finish as that being the barometer of progress. It’s as simple as that, not from his perspective.
“There has to be what he sees as progress for the team to make that next step. It’s not just about fourth place or fifth place, that’s a different argument for the club as a whole but it’s as he sees it.
“If you put everything into the mix, then I’d understand where you’re coming from to some extent. But you’re not doing that. You’re taking a strand of what he actually said and misinterpreting what he said.”
The duo then went back and forth over what Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would make of these comments, with Sutton insisting that Postecoglou will be far more interested in the job at hand.
While securing Champions League football would be an exceptional achievement for Postecoglou, we’d have to agree with Sutton here.
We’ve already seen Spurs finish fourth under Antonio Conte only to regress massively the following season. Being in the Champions League certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all for Tottenham.
It’s clear that Postecoglou is desperate to deliver the ultimate success at Spurs. Whether or not we end up in Europe’s biggest club competition next season shouldn’t take away from the progress we’ve seen on the pitch this term.
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