´I´ll never be a clown´ – Postecoglou lashes out at reporter and insists Spurs job not done

Ange Postecoglou insisted his work at Tottenham is far from done and lashed out at media coverage of his team in a fiery press conference ahead of the Europa League final.

Spurs will face Manchester United in Wednesday’s showpiece match in Bilbao, as they look to finally halt an agonising trophy drought.

Tottenham last lifted a piece of major silverware 17 years and 86 days prior to Wednesday’s final, having beaten Chelsea in the 2008 EFL Cup final under Juande Ramos.

The club’s last European trophy was won 40 years and 363 days prior, with Keith Burkinshaw overseeing a penalty shoot-out victory over Anderlecht in the 1984 UEFA Cup final.

As well as having the opportunity to match Liverpool’s English record of three UEFA Cup/Europa League successes, Spurs could salvage Champions League qualification from a miserable season by overcoming United.

Spurs sit 17th in the Premier League table with one game remaining and are likely to record their lowest finish since being relegated from Division One in 22nd place in 1976-77.

Postecoglou has taken issue with coverage of his team on several occasions throughout the season, and at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, he lashed out at a reporter from The London Standard.

The newspaper had published an article about Postecoglou’s Spurs legacy ahead of the final, in which the Australian was described as “teetering between hero and clown”.

Addressing the media after Spurs landed in Bilbao, Postecoglou said: “I’ll tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown and never will be.