LONDON – Ange Postecoglou has warned that Champions League qualification is not the equivalent of a “Willy Wonka golden ticket” and will be meaningless unless his Tottenham Hotspur side can build on it.
Fifth-placed Spurs travel to Aston Villa on March 10 for their English Premier League clash with both clubs vying for fourth spot, which will guarantee a place in Europe’s elite competition.
Fifth could also secure Champions League football.
But Postecoglou, without naming them, cited Manchester United and Newcastle United as examples of teams who failed to progress from the group stage after finishing in the top four last season.
“There are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last year,” he said on March 8.
“Does that guarantee anything the following season? No. What’s more important is that come the end of this year, we’ve got a team that’s going to challenge the following year and keep growing.
“Right now, the most important thing is us, our identity and our football.
“It’s not a Willy Wonka golden ticket, you know? It just gets you a year in the Champions League, but if you don’t build on that or grow from that, it is meaningless.”
Willy Wonka is a fictional character in British author Roald Dahl’s children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Postecoglou, in his first season at Tottenham, insisted his aim was to lay strong foundations.
“If we’ve improved and make Champions League, it means we’ve had a decent year,” he added.
“But that isn’t going to give me any comfort if we’re not playing the football that I want to play and we haven’t improved in the off-season to make sure we’re ready for the next step.”
The Australian also confirmed that right-back Pedro Porro is available for selection against Villa after missing the last two matches with a muscle injury.
The 24-year-old, who is joint-top in assists for Spurs in all competitions this season, did not feature in their 2-1 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers in February, as well as last weekend’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon continue to remain out with injuries.
Villa boss Unai Emery, who could be without Jacob Ramsey, Pau Torres and John McGinn, praised Postecoglou for the good work he has done.
“As a coach, you try to analyse and understand tactically how they are being successful in their idea and how they are improving during the season,” he said.
“It is a big challenge about how we can stop them. But we want to play with personality and show our capacity, individually and collectively.” AFP, REUTERS
