Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham in the Europa League final will ‘upset a lot of people’

Ange Postecoglou expects a lot of people to be upset by the fact that the Europa League final will be played between Tottenham and Manchester United, with the Australian insisting that neither club’s league struggles are relevant to their achievement.

As expected, both Tottenham Hotspur and Man United got the job done in the second leg against Bodo/Glimt and Atletico Bilbao, respectively, thus setting up an all-Premier League final at the San Mames in Bilbao on May 21.

Some pundits have already suggested that the winners of the Europa League do not deserve Champions League qualification, which certainly did not go well with those associated with Tottenham.

Postecoglou, who has come under scathing criticism all season, now has a golden chance to give a fitting reply to his critics by keeping his promise of winning a trophy in his second season.

Ange Postecoglou says Premier League struggles are irrelevant to final achievement

The Tottenham head coach insists that a lot of people in the media are not going to be happy to see his side and the Red Devils in the finals.

The 59-year-old questioned why teams at the top end of the Premier League table do not make finals of competitions if it is easy to do and insisted that both clubs deserve to be part of the showpiece event in two weeks.

When asked about the fact that both Tottenham and United have managed to make the final after very difficult seasons, Ange Postecoglou responded (via Football.London): “It’s going to upset a lot of people, isn’t it! The debate’s now raging, the latest one is that neither of us will be able to get a trophy if we win, they’re just going to take a team photo because we’re not worthy.

“I mean, who cares if we’re struggling in the league? Why is that important? If it’s so easy to get to a final, then why doesn’t everyone who finishes in the top three do it? It’s a separate thing. It’s got nothing to do with league form.

“We understand our league form hasn’t been great. We understand the struggles we’ve had. A lot of them are because of the situation we’ve been in. But how does that diminish the achievement of getting to a final? Like I said, this club and others have finished in first, second or third in the Premier League, and haven’t made finals.

“Why should that be diminished? I couldn’t care less who’s struggling and who’s not. I think both we and Manchester United have earned the right to be there. I think we’ve probably beaten teams who will be in the Champions League next year, on our road to getting there. So looking forward to it, should be a great game.”

Postecoglou and Spurs fans should ignore the media reaction

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham’s achievements of consistently finishing in the top four, competing for the league title on a couple of occasions and reaching the Champions League final were all downplayed by many pundits and opposition fans.

Their reasoning was that the only thing that mattered at the end of the day was winning trophies, which the Lilywhites had failed to do.

However, the same people will now turn around and say the trophy does not count if Spurs win the Europa League and point the finger at how poor the club have been in the league this season.

Postecoglou and everyone associated with Tottenham will do well to ignore them completely and not seek any validation from the media.

• READ MORE: Paul Scholes makes early prediction for Man United vs Tottenham in Europa League final

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