Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham were punished for a “passive” start in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City, which he believes is the “benchmark” that other teams want to reach.
Nathan Ake scored City’s first goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the 88th minute to knock the Spurs out of the FA Cup in the fourth round.
Tottenham are now focused on the Premier League, where they are fifth and eight points behind leaders Liverpool.
“We fought hard to stay in the game, but to be honest that was all we did to stay in the game,” Postecoglou said. “Our second half was okay. The first half was a bit too passive and we allowed them to get some rhythm in the game.
“We started the second half with a bit more conviction. But, as I say, we tried very hard to just stay in the game, but that won’t be enough today. You have to put pressure on your opponent from the first minute and we didn’t do that today.”
He added: “In the first 45 minutes you just have to believe a little bit more and be confident. I think we defended well. It wasn’t like Vic had to make a million saves.”
Postecoglou said of Pep Guardiola’s team: “They are a top team. They are the benchmark and we are not there yet. They have about eight or nine years on us. That’s no excuse, but the fact is that they are a long way from being the team they are and we are still in the early stages.”
James Maddison appeared on the bench for the first time since suffering an ankle injury against Chelsea in early November.
Asked if he was tempted to start with Maddison against City, Postecoglou replied. Given the nature of today’s game, he has been training for the last week and a half. We were able to give him a few minutes today, which we did, and he should be fine from now on.
“We need him and others to get involved in the game. There wasn’t really a big dilemma whether we should start him or not. I felt that today, when he plays off the bench, it will be better for us as a team than anything else.”