Ange Postecoglou insisted Tottenham will stick to his attacking philosophy in Sunday’s crucial north London derby against Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Postecoglou’s side cannot afford to lose to their bitter rivals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they try to stay in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
Fifth placed Tottenham are six points behind fourth placed Aston Villa, who can extend that advantage to nine if they beat troubled Chelsea on Saturday.
Tottenham will have three games in hand on Villa by the time they kick off against Arsenal, but Postecoglou knows only victories will do in the battle to finish in the top four.
With that in mind, the Australian has no intention of sending his team into the derby with a defensive mindset, even though Arsenal showed their attacking prowess with a 5-0 rout of Chelsea on Tuesday.
“It’s just about making sure you embrace the challenge and try to tackle it in the way that got us into this position in the first place,” Postecoglou told reporters on Friday.
“From our perspective we’ve had some inconsistencies and challenges this year, but when we’ve played well we’ve played a certain way and gone about things in a certain way.
“There’s no point now when you get to the most important part of the year to shy away from that or change your approach.
“You’ve got to double down on it and focus on playing our football. That’s a great measure for us because otherwise you’ll never know where you’re short or whether you can be successful in doing it our way.”
Arsenal are one point clear of second placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s men.
Postecoglou know a Tottenham win this weekend would be a major blow to Arsenal’s bid to win the title for the first time in 20 years.
“We understand the importance of being at home in these kind of games to not let our biggest rival win in the biggest derby for us,” he said.
“We understand the consequences of that. I’m not going to dictate how our fans feel and what they feel is important.”
