Cristian Romero Affirms Tottenham Players’ Satisfaction with Postecoglou

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero has voiced his support for Ange Postecoglou, even as the manager affirmed his commitment to his tactical approach following a highly disappointing 4-3 loss to Chelsea. Postecoglou joined Tottenham in 2023, a year after Romero’s permanent signing with the club in 2022. Spurs established a 2-0 lead within the initial 11 minutes but ultimately lost the match, with Cole Palmer converting two penalties, both awarded for what were largely deemed unnecessary fouls by Tottenham players. Postecoglou’s team has secured only one win in their last seven matches across all competitions, suffering four defeats during this period. They currently sit 11th in the Premier League table after 15 games, placing them in the bottom half. Postecoglou is the fifth manager, including caretakers, under whom Argentina centre-back Romero has played since his arrival in 2021. The Australian manager has achieved success at most clubs he has led, including Celtic. However, Tottenham has not won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup. Romero told Telemundo: “He’s a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries.” He added, “Players are the first one to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening. We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play. We’ll try to move on quickly.” Tottenham, whose chairman Daniel Levy has been in his role since 2001, commenced last season strongly under new boss Postecoglou but finished in fifth place. Regarding the Chelsea comeback, Postecoglou described it as “‘A sore one, a painful one'”. Postecoglou consistently adheres to his attacking philosophy, despite it often leading to his team conceding goals. This approach has seen him win trophies with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos, Celtic, and the Australia national team. “It was good enough to get us ahead in the game so I am not sure why we should change our approach,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live, referring to their quick start on Sunday. Goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski had given them an appearance of control until Jadon Sancho initiated the comeback in the 17th minute. Palmer scored twice, and Enzo Fernandez also found the back of the net. “It was a game of big moments. If we score at 2-2 and go 3-2 ahead then the pressure is on them and they have to open up like we did when we conceded,” the Spurs manager continued. He added: “Their penalties were poor from our behalf. We didn’t need to make those challenges and it was hard for us to claw it back.” Postecoglou also remarked: “I think sometimes when you are in this position we are, you are desperate to do the right thing. You probably need a calmer approach. The guys are desperate to do the right thing and unfortunately it cost us.” Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, who scored an injury-time goal to make it 4-3, stated that the players need to “step up”. The 32-year-old South Korean told Sky Sports: “We’ve got to stick together in such difficult moments. It’s very important and it’s why we need big support. The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had. The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it’s time the players also need to step up. We need some big support and big cheering up.”