Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has fired back at comments made by former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, regarding Champions League qualification.
Wenger doesn’t think Europa League winners deserve to qualify for the Champions League.
His remarks come as both Spurs and Manchester United find themselves languishing near the bottom of the Premier League table – 15th and 16th respectively – yet remain contenders in Europe.
Tottenham are now just one game away from the Europa League final, having secured a 3–1 victory over Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final first leg. Manchester United are widely expected to be their opponents should both sides progress.
Postecoglou, in his typically forthright manner, dismissed Wenger’s suggestion, noting that success in European competitions should not be diminished based on domestic form.
“Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days,” said Postecoglou.
“I’ve never heard that before. I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does. You put that club into any sentence or any issue, and invariably, they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.
“Why wasn’t there an issue before, and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is. Last year, fifth didn’t get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean?
“There are competition rules, and the rules that the winner goes into the Champions League, and it’s not the first year. And there isn’t an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well, but it’s Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it.”
