Ange Postecoglou determined to keep Tottenham’s focus on Bournemouth

Ange Postecoglou has stressed Tottenham cannot overlook the visit of Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday despite next week’s crucial Europa League last-16 tie with AZ Alkmaar.

Spurs were punished for a lacklustre display at AFAS Stadion on Thursday and a 1-0 first-leg loss means the prospect of silverware this season hangs in the balance.

Before Tottenham attempt to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, Bournemouth and highly-rated boss Andoni Iraola arrive eager to increase the heat on Postecoglou, who will have key duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero available.

“The biggest game of the season is Sunday first,” Postecoglou said.

“We have to win on Thursday night and if we don’t, we’re out. In that context, it’s the only competition left for us to try to win something, so yeah it’s definitely the biggest game, but I’ve got to make sure none of them are thinking about that.

“I have to make sure they are all thinking about Sunday because Sunday is really important for us.

“Come Monday morning, we’ve got four days to prepare for a game where we are 1-0 down with a home game to come and that’s where our mindset should be, but before then, I really think it’s important we play well and get a result against Bournemouth.

“We still need to move up the table and can’t be dismissive of that.”

Postecoglou clarified on Friday that Van de Ven and Romero were kept on the bench due to the poor surface in Alkmaar. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke could feature against his former club despite a painful blow to his back late on.

Consistency has been Tottenham’s Achilles heel all campaign, with notable November triumphs over Aston Villa and Manchester City sandwiched between a tepid display in defeat at home to Ipswich, while in January a fine victory over Liverpool was followed with a 2-1 loss to Leicester.

Injuries have not helped Postecoglou, but he acknowledged a lack of “middle ground” has been an issue.

Postecoglou added: “We’ve either played teams off the park and won really convincingly or lost. There hasn’t been a middle ground and you need middle ground for consistency.

“That was evident again (at Alkmaar). That was a game, as poor as we were, we still shouldn’t have lost.

“If our mindset was right, you get away with a draw and come back with a different scenario. That’s been the case in the league many times this year.

“That is part of our issue and some of it can be explained by our squad situation, but some of it can be explained by our approach and ability to get something out of a game that’s not going our way.

“Again, from my perspective, what’s important is we get a little bit more consistent in the way we approach things and I firmly believe that when we play our best football, as we have at times this year, we don’t need to fear anyone.”

The availability of Van de Ven and Romero will be a huge boost, especially given they last played together regularly back in October.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has shown his importance in recent weeks after a two-and-a-half-month absence, but felt the frustration of Tottenham’s travelling support on Thursday when he seemed to urge the fans to lift their spirits and was met with anger.

“Vic is just so passionate. He wants everyone to push on and get something,” Postecoglou added.

“That guy did everything in his power to get back as quickly as possible. Why? Because he cares. He cared last night, he cares this morning.

“He’s a wonderful asset for this football club.”