Beleaguered Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou accused the club's critics of excessive negativity as he prepared for arguably the most important game of his nearly two seasons in charge.
The Spurs manager has come in for sharp criticism this season with the club languishing in the lower levels of the Premier League. However, they can still redeem themselves in the Europa League.
Tottenham host Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of the quarter-final on Thursday with suggestions that Postecoglou's future at the club could depend on whether or not he can salvage a poor season by winning the trophy.
The London club got ready for the clash with a 3-1 league win over bottom club Southampton at the weekend but even after that win, Postecoglou was grilled about Brennan Johnson being denied a hat-trick.
Johnson was keen to take a late penalty with the score 2-1 but it was instead given to Mathys Tel.
"We scored, we won. Delighted. It's incredible. It's the one bit. Literally turning gold into crap when it's Tottenham. If we're 2-1 up and we get a penalty late on, I want our best penalty taker to take it," Postecoglou said on Wednesday.
"I just think we're in that position now where even the good stuff we do is going to be turned into a glass half-empty rhetoric. The one slight against this club is that it hasn't been a winner. The winners' mentality in the last minute is to score. We scored and somehow, in this alternate universe, everything Tottenham does is negative."
Bundesliga side Frankfurt won the Europa League in 2022, beating Rangers in the final on penalties, and they represent a tough challenge for Tottenham.
Spurs fans have not had much to celebrate this season, but Postecoglou hopes the home crowd can help create a raucous atmosphere in the 60,000-seat arena on Thursday, similar to the one Arsenal fans produced against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Tottenham have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2008 and have not reached a European quarter-final since 2019 when they went on to reach the Uefa Champions League final and lost to Liverpool.
Postecoglou said even if he does end that trophy drought, it might not be good enough for some detractors.
"I just think you can't win the argument of convincing people. Even if we win [the Europa League], I am gone anyway. That's just the general sentiment of the people," he said.
"If you try to use that as a motivation, you are not going to win anyway. It's got to be something more in it for us."
Frankfurt go for glory again
Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike is finally flourishing and has his club dreaming of another Europa League title.
Frankfurt won the competition in 2022 and while that side, coached by now Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, rode a wave of emotion all the way to defeating Rangers on penalties in the final, this season Frankfurt seem a more well-rounded team.
Amid a blend of established stars like captain Kevin Trapp, experienced veterans like World Cup winner Mario Goetze and an array of future stars, Frankfurt's main man is 22-year-old Ekitike.
Having endured an unhappy time at Paris Saint-Germain before joining Frankfurt in the winter window in 2023/24, the striker from Reims in France's Champagne region is now in sparkling form.
Nowhere was his particular set of skills more evident than in the second leg of Frankfurt's last-16 clash with Ajax, which the Eagles won 4-1.
Ekitike showed his finesse with a deft assist to set up Frankfurt's opener for Jean-Matteo Bahoya, before blasting in a long-range effort of his own to seal the result midway through the second-half.
His hat-trick in France U21's 5-3 win over England in March showed Frankfurt are once again in possession of one of Europe's brightest forward talents.
Omar Marmoush, who moved to Manchester City in January, became the latest of a production line of talented forwards which includes Randal Kolo Muani, Luka Jovic, Sebastian Haller, Andre Silva and Ante Rebic.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
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Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
FORSPOKEN
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Starfield
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
