‘I’ve been in Glasgow... I know all about derbies’
Ange Postecoglou won’t let Tottenham’s motivation going into today’s north London derby be driven by stopping Arsenal winning the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
The overall picture for Spurs has changed since they lasted played on April 13, with fourth-placed Aston Villa able to establish a six-point advantage while fifth is no longer set to provide Champions League football.
It does not decrease the significance of this afternoon’s clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Arsenal aware a victory would move them a step closer to a first title in 20 years.
However, Postecoglou referenced his time in charge of Celtic when he looked ahead to a crucial fixture between two bitter rivals.
“Not in terms of that as a motivation, no,” Postecoglou reflected.
“I want to win and I understand the importance of winning against your rival.
“I’ve just come down from Glasgow. I’ve got a fair idea about what derbies mean to supporters.
“I never believe your motivation should revolve around the demise of somebody else.
“Your motivation should be about yourself. I want to win because I want us to achieve something.
“I want us to progress. I want us to be in a position fighting for the title. That’s what drives me, not the demise.
“If that’s your kind of measure, always peering over the back fence to see what your neighbour’s building you could both have the worst houses in the street because everyone else is building beautiful places and you’re looking over the back fence.
“I never wanted to win those games because it meant Rangers would lose. I wanted to win as I wanted us to win the title.”
The 58-year-old has made clear his desire for Spurs to challenge the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City next season. Postecoglou
also rejected claims that he would have accepted a fifth-placed finish in August when Harry Kane was sold, but did pay tribute to the squad for overcoming his departure with minimal fuss.
He said: “I was sitting in here the day before the Brentford game and he’d just left.
“I remember making a real conscious effort of looking really graceful above the water and if there was any panicking happening, making sure it was under the water so that nobody could see, particularly the players.
“Again, the players never batted an eyelid, which they could have, especially when you look at what Harry has done this year. It has been unbelievable.
“And yet he hasn’t been mentioned as much as he would have been had we not been scoring goals. That’s credit to the playing group that they have embraced that challenge. I think these things we have been through this year will help us in the medium or long term.
“That has to be our aim, that in 12 months’ time we’re in a position where we are one of the contenders rather than trying to disrupt them.”
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has urged his players to put their north London rivalry with Tottenham to one side as Arsenal look to stay top of the Premier League with victory.
It would take Arsenal a step closer to a first league crown in two decades, when Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles secured the title at White Hart Lane.
Arteta wants to remove the emotion of derby day and focus on the job at hand.
“We have to put the rivalry aside and to live the game with passion and the intensity that it demands rather than anything special because the game has everything you need to enjoy it,” he said.
Remarkably, Arsenal have played four matches since Tottenham last kicked a ball, losing to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final but beating Wolves and Chelsea to stay top, even if Manchester City have a game in hand.
However, Arteta does not want to use fixture congestion as an excuse heading into one of the most important north London derbies in recent history.
“For sure, we’re going to be fully ready,” he said.
“I love the fact that we played four games. We had some great experiences. It’s been a really demanding week.
“We had some great results in the last two. That’s boosted the confidence of everybody. We’re in a good place.”
Despite being top of the table, Opta’s predictions give Arsenal just a 26.6% chance of lifting the Premier League, with City firm favourites following a comfortable win over Brighton on Thursday.
“Maybe we can tweak the computer to make it a bit higher,” Arteta joked.
“Maybe it needs to update the software, we can help it to update the software and give it more tools. Hopefully we can change that.”