Ange Postecoglou gave a detailed insight into his pressing tactics in Between The Lines with TNT Sports expert Rio Ferdinand.

Postecoglou’s aggressive approach on the pitch came under the spotlight on Monday as Tottenham lost a thrilling derby to Chelsea in north London, with the Australian refusing to drop his team deeper despite going down to nine men in the second half.

Indeed, it almost led to Spurs snatching an unlikely point, but Eric Dier had an equaliser chalked off at 2-1 before Son Heung-min spurned a big chance moments later. It proved costly as Nicolas Jackson exposed the high line to score twice in injury time to complete his hat-trick and leave a rather lopsided final score of 4-1.

Speaking before that clash in Between The Lines, available to watch on TNT Sports 3 on Thursday at 22:30 UK time, or on TNTSports.co.uk on Friday morning, Postecoglou spoke about staying true to his tactical principles regardless of the scoreline, and how a pre-season friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk proved to be a wake-up call for his squad.

Spurs were 2-1 up and dropped the intensity of their play with half-time approaching, something which prompted the Australian to issue his players with the riot act at the break.

“What we’re focusing on is what the score is and what the time is. Now we’re not playing our football and reacting to something that’s up there [the time and the scoreboard],” Postecoglou told TNT Sports ahead of Saturday’s match between Wolves and Tottenham, with coverage starting at 11:00am on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+.

“I said if you’re going to be reacting to that [scoreboard and time], you’re never going to be committed to anything.

“You see how passive we are? That can’t be us. That led us to getting possession and going long, and I could see they were thinking: ‘two minutes until half-time lads, let’s hold onto that lead.’”

The Spurs boss explained how he changed Tottenham’s approach to the match – which they would go onto win 5-1 – by adopting more of an aggressive, front-foot approach.

“Now they’re ignoring this [the scoreline] because we’re 2-1 up, and we’re saying: ‘if you want to close out this game, go and score a third goal.’

“If you want to ice a game, this is the best way to do it, to score three.

“If you win the game and you don’t address this issue, that’s when it’s tougher because the players get the sugar hit of a win, but not in the way we want to play.”

Postecoglou also recollected a UEFA Champions League game during his time at Celtic, where his side were heavily beaten in a 5-1 defeat at the Bernabeu.

He explained the need to stay consistent in his tactical approach regardless of the opposition.

“We paid a heavy price and this is where the tests come. The players are saying to me: ‘if you’re going to change against Real Madrid, you don’t really believe in it’,” he said.

“So, the challenge for Celtic would be, can we progress from just being aggressive? We have had these moments when we won the ball, but didn’t have the quality to finish off or hurt a team like Real Madrid.

“It was about improving that quality in the final third. But I think the players got comfort from knowing that irrespective of the scoreline, I’ll take the flak for the 5-1.

“If we keep doing this, we’ll get the rewards at some point.”

Tottenham’s gung-ho approach was evident in the defeat to Chelsea as Postecoglou’s side were reduced to nine men after Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were both sent off.

Spurs played a high defensive line halfway up the pitch and Postecoglou gave a fascinating insight into the reasons behind this approach by reviewing the 2-0 win over Fulham last month.

“The key thing to notice is that it’s not only one press because it’s the repeated efforts that get you the pressure. It’s not always the first guy,” he explained.

“When Madders [James Maddison] presses here, I don’t want him to worry about what’s behind him. I want him to know that we’re on the halfway line, because so often I see teams press up here [in the opposition box] and their defence is back here [in their own half].

“I’m thinking, ‘that’s not going to work’, get on the halfway line, close the space, close one side and then be really aggressive with it. Don’t get disheartened if you don’t win it straight away.”

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