Ange Postecoglou doubles down on Tottenham fan confrontation: 'I don't really care'

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has said he does not regret his confrontation with supporters at Bournemouth on Thursday, insisting he will never back down from doing "the right thing".

Postecoglou exchanged heated words with fans in the away end after full-time of Spurs' 1-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium.

The Spurs manager revealed his wife disapproved of his behaviour but, speaking ahead of Sunday's derby against Chelsea, said he had no regrets about the incident.

"No, they felt like they needed to give me feedback, so I thought I’d get close enough for them to make sure they were heard," Postecoglou said.

"Hopefully after 18 months, you [the media] have realised that I am who I am. I don’t really care.

"Whether people think I’m an easy target, soft target. I’m going to shy away from it. I’ve fought my whole life and I’m not going to race down the tunnel because some people feel like they need to give me some direction. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t.

"From my perspective, what motivates me and what drives me on a daily basis is to continually stay true to my values and what I believe is the right thing to do in every situation. Maybe people thought it wasn’t the right thing to do. My wife certainly didn’t.

"So I got some feedback there as well. But that’s ok. I’m not going to change. It’s who I am, mate. I’ve been like that my whole career and I won’t change.”

Postecoglou approached fans after his players had received a mixed reception from the travelling support and could be seen pointing to his chest during the exchange.

Asked if he was taking responsibility for Spurs' performance and result, he said: "Yeah, [I was saying], 'It’s on me but also whatever you’ve got to direct, direct it at me. And I’m listening. I’m listening, I’m looking, I’m understanding.'"

After last season's home game with Chelsea, Postecoglou's side were applauded off after bravely sticking to Postecoglou's high defensive line and attacking principles, despite having two players sent off before the hour and losing two more to injuries.

Asked about the connection with fans, Postecoglou admitted that he would have "to find a way" to get the majority of supporters behind him, adding: "That will be dependent on what people see, what people feel.

"The only way I can affect that is by what we produce on game days.

"I’ve got to concentrate on the controllables, and the controllables are the team, how we prepare, how we play and hopefully through that vehicle we get everyone on board.

"I’m sure at other clubs, if you stick to a plan and go through difficult moments, there’s dissension among supporters in these moments. You forget about that when you’re on the other side. Yeah it’s about winning but it’s about belief as well in what you’re doing sometimes. You look beyond the results I think.

"That’s what happened at the start of my tenure last year. We lost against Chelsea but there was a sense that we were building something. Obviously it kind of went off the rails after that game. It’s not just about winning, but where we are right now it will certainly help."

A depleted Spurs, who were again missing seven players to injuries, illness and suspension, started well against Bournemouth but they were abject after Dean Huijsen ghosted in at the far post to head home a corner after 17 minutes.

"It can’t be a physical thing when it happens early in the game, I don’t think," Postecoglou said, when asked what went wrong on the south coast.

"It’s not a physical thing. We started the game well. It’s not like we started sluggishly. The first two chances that came fell to Deki and Dom. Two chances where you go: ‘Ok, we’ve started the game really well.’

“And literally the first time they go up, they get a set-piece and they score an unopposed header. That kind of tells you that, nah … You can’t go into a game like that and allow the opposition then to take control of the game.

"We prepared ourselves for a tough game, that was going to be tougher than any other game we were going to face last night. And the disappointing thing is, like I said, that in a game where we started well, we once again allowed the opposition to play the game on their terms by us lacking discipline and conviction in a key moment. And we can’t keep doing that."