Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou shows his nasty streak with comments after Fulham win
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was critical of his side after their 2-0 win over Fulham on Monday night
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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been widely seen as Mr Nice Guy in the short time since his appointment.
But the Australian showed his true colours after his side beat Fulham 2-0 to return to the top of the Premier League table on Monday night.
Tottenham went into the match knowing victory over their London rivals would boost their chances of title glory.
And goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison to gave Spurs all three points.
Tottenham star Son Heung-min put his side ahead during their Premier League win over Fulham
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All in all it was a good night at the office.
Tottenham had 15 shots, with five of them on target, while they also had 56 per cent of the ball as well.
They managed more passes than their opponents, too, and even their passing statistics were superior.
But Postecoglou wasn't happy with his side's second half performance.
And he showed a nasty streak following Tottenham's win, slamming his team for the way they performed during the second half of the match.
“I’m really disappointed with the second half,” said the 58-year-old.
“We were nowhere near the levels we have been all year and we have got to make sure we stay disciplined in our approach.
"The keeper [Guglielmo Vicario] made a couple of great saves to keep the clean sheet and within the context we should have had a much better control of the game.
"I’m not trying to make a point, it’s just what I saw.
"I thought we were really wasteful with the ball in the second half.
"We took some liberties with taking extra touches.
"I’ve been around long enough to know if you try to take liberties, you’ll get dragged down pretty quickly.
"I’m not going to let the fact that we’ve won the game disguise the opportunity there for us to improve.
"In the second half, with the ball we weren’t anywhere near the levels we’ve already shown this year and there was no real reason for it.
"It wasn’t as if the opposition did anything different. It was more self-inflicted.
"My role in that was to give feedback to the players. That’s what they want.
"They want to get better, they want to improve, I’ve got some stuff there to show them."
Tottenham are very much a team on the up.
Many fans had their doubts over Postecoglou when he was named as Antonio Conte's permanent successor in the summer.
Tottenham, after a few years of flying under Mauricio Pochettino, had regressed over the past three seasons.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Tottenham star James Maddison sparkled again during his side's Premier League win over Fulham
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But progress is certainly being made.
Postecoglou, however, still thinks there's a long way to go and has warned Tottenham about complacency.
"I think I’ve sat here every week and said that,” he said.
“That doesn’t change. We are nine games in and we’re at the beginning of building something.
"It would be so much easier for me to sit here and say, ‘Yeah, we’re a great team’.
Tottenham are flying under Ange Postecoglou with their bright start continuing in Fulham win
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"What I’m saying is we have to improve and that puts the responsibility on me to make sure we do it. We can be better, absolutely we can.”
Tottenham are next in action against Crystal Palace on Friday night (8pm).
Victory would see them open up a five-point lead at the top of the table, with rivals Arsenal and Manchester City in action over the weekend.
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