Ange Postecoglou insists he is ‘responsible’ for Tottenham’s struggles this season ahead of Boxing Day meeting with high-flying Nottingham Forest and former manager Nuno Espirito Santo

There were few dissenting opinions as Nuno Espirito Santo’s brief reign as Tottenham boss came to an end.

It was November 2021 and more than just the fact they finished eighth in the Premier League with a disappointing record of eight wins from 17 games, it was a matter of style.

“It’s clearly not the right match,” was the verdict of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust.

These reflections, three years later, provide an intriguing perspective as Spurs travel to Nottingham Forest, where they are flying high in fourth place under Nuno, difficult to play against, threatening on the break and fueled by Chris Wood’s goals.

No one at the City Ground is complaining about the way they are going about it, while Spurs fans are faced with a new existential crisis over what they really want and expect from their team.

Ange Postecoglou has revived an identity with flamboyance and flair after four years under Jose Mourinho, Nuno and Antonio Conte. Goals are guaranteed. This also applies to tension, where the results are at stake even if one side is three ahead.

Yet they are wallowing among the mid-table, beset by injuries for weeks and eight points behind Forest after Sunday’s demoralizing 6-3 defeat at home to Liverpool.

“I’m responsible for it,” Postecoglou said. “I am the one who chooses the path we follow. It’s difficult, I don’t like seeing our supporters have to experience such a match.

‘I don’t like it when players give everything and feel like that. And all the staff, because everyone works hard and they all do a great job. But in the end, on such a day, everyone leaves feeling quite deflated, disappointed and unfairly judged.

‘That is my responsibility. It obviously weighs very heavily on me. But my biggest responsibility is to try to change the direction of this club and bring success. And no matter how hard I try, I still feel like it’s my role to make sure we stay on track.”

He has been criticized by pundits for failing to rethink his arrogant style, just as Nuno was lambasted and eventually sacked by Spurs because his football was dry and lacking adventure.

“In today’s world we look for perfection and it doesn’t exist,” Postecoglou said. “Whatever path you take, there will be pain and challenges.

‘People say I need to be more defensive, so that means I need to tone down my attacking approach. Make it more defensive to achieve what? Achieve perfection. And if you’re too defensive, people say you should be a little more offensive, to what end? To be perfect. None of that exists.

‘Some people will always only look in black and white terms of just results. If I win, I’m great. My system is great, my beliefs are great, my philosophy is great and if I lose it all, I’m not.”

There were very few dissenting voices when Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign at Tottenham ended

Tottenham’s crisis is being eased with Rodrigo Bentancur back after a seven-match ban and Ben Davies battling to return from injury.

The transfer market opens next week, but Postecoglou fears that changes in European competitions could make it more difficult than ever to sign players mid-season.

The Spurs boss said: ‘Sometimes in January you see a few clubs thinking ‘we’re not in the Champions League so maybe drop a few from our squad’, and that doesn’t exist now.

‘The European competitions are still on the line. So that probably adds another layer of difficulty. But we will do our best, because there is definitely a need for reinforcement.

‘We will see how successful we are in that. Improving the team can be a little bit challenging, but improving the depth of our squad, I think there is always opportunity.”