Ange dismisses Spurs criticism: It's 'irrelevant'

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has described external criticism of his team as "irrelevant" following their 4-1 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semifinals.

Spurs took a slender advantage into the second leg at Anfield thanks to Lucas Bergvall's late winner in north London last month. However, they were comprehensively beaten by Arne Slot's side on Merseyside thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk.

The manner of the defeat will only heighten the pressure on Postecoglou as his team's dismal campaign continues, with Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp condemning his former club's performance at Anfield.

"I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight with what Spurs did today," Redknapp said.

Reflecting on those comments, Postecoglou said: "People are on TV to give opinions. That's their job. My job is to manage this football club. What other people think or don't think is kind of irrelevant. It doesn't place any kind of emphasis on who we are or what we're trying to do. At the end of the day, everyone is allowed to have an opinion and express that opinion."

Asked whether he feels the criticism being levelled at him is fair considering Tottenham's lengthy injury list, Postecoglou added: "I don't worry about being judged or who's judging me. Ultimately my responsibility is to try and get the players I have to the best of my ability.

"It was disappointing tonight because we had an opportunity to get to a final and they don't come around too often."

Spurs' Carabao Cup disappointment comes on the back of their disappointing Premier League campaign -- they sit 14th in the table and have lost 13 of their 23 games so far this season.

Despite the damaging defeat at Anfield, Postecoglou and Spurs still have the opportunity to end the season with silverware if they find success in the Europa League or FA Cup.

The north London club have qualified for the Europa League round of 16 and travel to face Aston Villa in the fourth round of the world's oldest national football competition on Sunday.