The Japan Times - Spurs attempt to grasp Europa League lifeline to save dismal season

Spurs suffered their 19th defeat of a demoralising Premier League campaign at Anfield on Sunday, crumbling 5-1 as swaggering Liverpool were crowned champions.

The predictable loss left them 16th in the table -- on course for their worst league finish since they were relegated from the English top flight in 1977, though they cannot go down.

Spurs host Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday with all their eggs now in one basket.

If they come through that they will face either fellow strugglers Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao in the final in Bilbao, with a chance to win their first European trophy for 41 years.

Tottenham manager Postecoglou made eight changes at Anfield from the team that had lost to Nottingham Forest last week, and is open about where his priorities now lie.

The Australian has been hit hard by injuries this season but has nearly a full roster of players available for Thursday's first leg in London.

His main concern is over the fitness of captain Son Heung-min, who has missed the past four games with a foot injury.

Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will likely return in defence while Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski are expected to bolster the midfield.

A glimmer of hope for Tottenham is that Bodo/Glimt themselves will be weakened as a result of suspensions and manager Kjetil Knutsen also has injury worries.

- Trophy drought -

A frustrated Postecoglou 59, has acknowledged the "general sentiment" points to a Spurs exit even if he wins the Europa League to end Tottenham's 17-year wait for silverware.

"We finished fifth last year, but it's not a good story," he said. "A better story is my tenure has been a disaster and it continues to be.

"I just think that the kind of hysteria that is surrounding what's happening at the moment is all premeditated for a certain outcome. Hopefully we can defy that."

Postecoglou arrived from Celtic after an unhappy end to Antonio Conte's reign, in July 2023.

The former Australia boss made the best start to life in the Premier League of any manager in the competition's history, winning eight of his first 10 Premier League games with his "Ange Ball" brand of attacking football.

Smitten Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy even declared to a fans' forum in September 2023: "We've got our Tottenham back."

But Spurs wobbled and eventually collapsed badly at the end of the campaign, losing five of their last seven Premier League games to miss out on a Champions League spot.

This season has been grim for the club and Postecoglou cut a dejected figure when he faced the press following Sunday's defeat at Anfield.

But despite Tottenham's woes he does not believe he will have to work hard to lift his players for their Europa League date with destiny.

"There's a massive opportunity," he said. "We'll put all our energies, efforts and focus into that and try to push on to a European final."

T.Maeda--JT