‘I don’t care’ – Ange Postecoglou dismisses ‘irrelevant’ Jamie Redknapp criticism after Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool

Ange Postecoglou insisted he did not care about the damning comments Jamie Redknapp made about his Tottenham side in the wake of their crushing Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool.

Spurs held a one-goal advantage heading into to this evening’s second leg but were blown away on Merseyside, with Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk all finding the back of the net.

It secured Liverpool – the defending champions – a 4-1 win on aggregate over the two-legged tie, setting up what promises to be an intriguing final between Arne Slot’s men and Newcastle at Wembley on March 16.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are left to lick their wounds once again, with the visitors failing to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes at Anfield.

Analysing the one-sided contest in the Sky Sports studio shortly after the final whistle, an astounded Redknapp claimed he had never seen a team roll over quite like Spurs had done in his entire lifetime.

‘I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight than they did today,’ the ex-Tottenham, Liverpool and England midfielder said.

‘Not having one shot on target in a semi-final second leg, when you’re trying to do something, trying to change the course of your history. I feel sorry for those young players.

‘I think Djed Spence played 14 different positions tonight, I’ve never seen anything like it.

‘These young players, you’re meant to protect them. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, they’re young men and they’re trying their best.

‘But I’d look at the experienced players to lead today and make sure they set the right tempo today. They didn’t do that one bit.

‘There have been some lows. Palace, Everton, Ipswich… but when you look at that scoreline, it’s just horrendous.’

Asked whether he though Redknapp’s scathing criticism was ‘fair’ at his post-match press conference, Postecoglou replied: ‘You asking me? Ask Jamie. He’s obviously made the comment.

‘Look, I know people get really excited about things like that but there are people on TV to give opinions. That’s what they do, that’s their job.

‘My job is not to scan the TV or the commentary on our games. My job is to manage this football club.

‘Whatever people think or don’t think is kind of irrelevant. It doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t really put any sort of emphasis on who we are and what we’re trying to do.’

The Australian added: ‘At the end of the day, everyone is allowed to have an opinion, everyone is allowed to express that opinion.

‘My view is I don’t really need to respond to that or be affected by that because I don’t care.

‘Whether it’s Jamie Redknapp or anyone else, I don’t care and it doesn’t bother me.’

Postecoglou was particularly disappointed with the way his side allowed Liverpool to ‘control the game’ and dictate the tempo for the most part at Anfield.

‘Look, it’s fair to say we didn’t really get to the levels we needed to tonight,’ he continued.

‘It was always going to be a big challenge for us. They’re obviously a very good side in a great moment, with all their players in very good form, very settled.

‘But for us to give ourselves an opportunity, we had to be a lot more aggressive with and without the ball and we weren’t.

‘We allowed them to control the game and dictate the way it was played. In the end, they were too good for us.’

Postecoglou hopes his players are able to ‘make amends’ for their wretched performance when they lock horns with Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend.

‘It’s disappointing. It was a great opportunity for us to get to a final and we didn’t take that opportunity,’ he went on.

‘To didn’t give ourselves a chance to take that opportunity which is probably more disappointing.

‘But ultimately it’s an opportunity for further learning and an opportunity for us to atone for that and make amends with a strong performance on Sunday.’

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