In what promises to be a thrilling Premier League showdown, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is determined to put a damper on the birthday celebrations of Aston Villa’s Unai Emery as Spurs look to assert their dominance over their Champions League rivals.
Emery, set to celebrate his 53rd birthday this Sunday, may be one of the league’s veteran figures, but he finds himself outmatched in age by 59-year-old Postecoglou, who currently holds the title of the oldest manager in the Premier League.
“A miserable day for him, I hope!” chuckled Postecoglou at a pre-match press conference, when the topic of Emery’s birthday was brought up.
“I’m the oldest in the competition, mate, so I’m not about to be mentioning any birthdays here.”
While Postecoglou acknowledges Villa’s rightful place in the Champions League, he is resolute about reversing the narrative this season, aiming to “get on top of them” in this critical clash.
The battle for top-four supremacy has been fierce this season with Villa narrowly clinching fourth place by just two points ahead of Spurs. Ironically, had English clubs made a more robust showing across Europe’s tournaments last year, the fifth-placed team could have found themselves competing in the Champions League. But with Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, and Brighton all falling short of the semi-finals, and Villa bowing out of the Conference League in the last four, Tottenham will have to settle for the Europa League while Emery’s men are busy challenging giants like Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Postecoglou brushed aside notions that it stings to see Villa facing the best in Europe. “If English teams had only done better in Europe last year—jeez, woe is me!” he replied with a grin.
“Nah, I think they got what they deserved. We got what we deserved. We’re playing where we’re playing; they’re playing where they’re playing. Our focus is to get on top of them this year.”
As the teams gear up for this enticing fixture, Postecoglou anticipates a fierce competition, highlighting, “We know it’s going to be a good game. We’ll pose certain challenges for each other. It’s a great challenge, but it’s at home—we need to maintain our strength and improve our consistency in the league.”
Spurs showed their mettle in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, captivating a near capacity crowd of 60,797. The result not only showcased the team’s hunger for silverware, breaking a 16-year trophy drought, but also set the stage for their sixth home win across all competitions this season.
Despite recent setbacks on the road, Postecoglou expressed satisfaction with Tottenham’s formidable home form. “Our home performances have been strong, and that needs to continue. The supporters are crucial to that. They were fantastic on Wednesday night, creating an electrifying atmosphere that energised the players and unsettled the opposition.”
