by Ange Postecoglou understands the importance of Arsenal’s visit on Sunday but would be disappointed if his Tottenham players wanted to win this game more than the trip to Coventry next week.
Spurs have failed to find success in any of the last four north London derbies, with Mikel Arteta successfully transforming the Gunners into Premier League title contenders in recent years.
Postecoglou has enjoyed a generally positive first season in England but found himself at odds with parts of the Spurs fanbase in May when Manchester City visited N17.
City travelled to Tottenham on 14 May with a conflicted home crowd, knowing that a positive result for Spurs would have put Arsenal in a position to win the title, but the visitors narrowly won 2-0.
Nevertheless, Postecoglou wants his team to approach each match with the same desire.
“I don’t feel pressure anymore because there was pressure in this game (against Manchester City). I want to win every game,” Postecoglou said.
“I don’t care who we play. Let’s play each other. I want to beat you!”
“I would really hate to think that there are players in the dressing room who want to win this game more than any other.
“Or we prepare differently or we put more effort into this game than in any other, because that’s not the right way to go. We understand the importance of that because if we win, our fans will be over the moon.
“I understand that if we don’t win they will be devastated, but if we prepare for this game differently to the others then I am disappointed because I want to win every time. That is the only way to succeed.”
“I make no apologies for it. I’m not going to prepare any differently for this game than I did against Newcastle or Coventry.
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“I want to win all the time and I want our club to win all the time. And if you do that, then yes, if you beat your rivals in a big derby, then everyone is excited and everyone feels good, but I want more than that.”
The Australian coach masterminded triumphant declarations against Manchester United and Liverpool in the first two months of last season.
Spurs also managed to win comprehensively at Aston Villa in March, but in the final month of the campaign they suffered defeats at Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as a 2-0 home loss to champions City.
Asked whether Tottenham needed a big win to restore confidence in his methods, Postecoglou defended his progress just 15 months into his reign.
Postecoglou asked: “What do you mean by faith? If people have lost faith in what we do, I can’t let that become my guide in what we do.”
“My guide is what I see every day, the way we play football, the way the team is growing and I am as optimistic and upbeat as ever.
“Is it important to win big games? Absolutely yes, I want to win big games, but we won big games at the start of last season.
“That doesn’t mean it’s going to get you where you want to go. It takes a consistent approach. I haven’t seen anything that would make me doubt what we’re doing.”
