Postecoglou sack inevitable as Spurs slip towards relegation battle with embarrassing Leicester loss

Tottenham Hotspur are slipping into a relegation battle under Ange Postecoglou and Sunday’s home defeat to Leicester City should be his last.

It was 18th v 20th in the Premier League form table at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Leicester went into Sunday’s clash having lost seven top-flight matches in a row and with head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy on the brink, while Spurs were winless in six and only had three league wins since the start of November; hilariously, one of those victories was the 4-0 at Manchester City.

Leicester’s record this season has not come as a surprise. All three promoted teams came up expecting to go straight back down and the Foxes hierarchy decided to sack Steve Cooper in November, bringing in Van Nistelrooy after his exploits as Manchester United caretaker, which included two comfortable wins against his current employers.

He has been in the job less than two months, yet we feared for him going into this fixture. Home chants at the King Power of “you don’t know what you’re doing” and seven abject losses in a row suggest he is on borrowed time, but the Dutchman might have just bought himself a lifeline with an unlikely victory at Spurs.

It is a victory likely to see one of his peers relieved of his duties. Ange Postecoglou has lasted a lot longer than a lot of other managers would have, perhaps convincing Daniel Levy to give him more time after his trophy promise back in September.

Injuries have played a part as well. The crisis has been unprecedented, with several key defenders and first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario missing and now big-money summer signing Dominic Solanke out for six weeks. They have hindered Spurs massively yet are probably the main reason Big Ange is still in a job.

But for how long? What will it take? Being thumped by Everton last week was not enough. Needing extra time to beat non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup didn’t move Levy. Neither did giving Ipswich Town their first win of the season, or any number of yet more abysmal results and performances.

Losing at home to a miserable Leicester team so soon after edging past Hoffenheim in the Europa League should be what ends Postecoglou’s reign in north London.

The first half was fairly even but Spurs went into the break ahead thanks to a Richarlison header, which was assisted by a world-class Pedro Porro cross.

An inspiring Van Nistelrooy half-time team talk flipped the game on its head. The Foxes were 2-1 up within five minutes of the second half kicking off. Jamie Vardy’s tap-in – followed by a Premier League title mocking celebration – and Bilal El Khannouss’ terrific strike put the visitors in front and they held on. In fact, they never really looked like losing their advantage.

Spurs unsurprisingly dominated possession after going behind but their inability to break down a low block was punished – not for the first time this season. Taking Richarlison off in the 53rd minute did not go down well; the injury-prone Brazilian must have been on a minutes restriction.

Postecoglou’s side are now only six points above Leicester and remain one ahead of Everton, who have a game in hand, albeit against Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Take nothing away from the Foxes, who deserved their win and are out of the relegation zone, but this is all about Postecoglou and Spurs. The boos at the end were deafening and with Levy in attendance, a Postecoglou sacking before tea time would not be a surprise.

Thirteen league defeats is absolutely unacceptable, and being ahead in their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool is not a reasonable reason not to pay him off and find a new manager. The way Postecoglou sets his team up means they will get trounced by three or four goals at Anfield anyway.

You look at their upcoming domestic fixtures and it is hard to see where the next win comes. They are absolutely rotten and need to make a chance before a potential relegation battle becomes a reality. It should be silly to say Spurs could be in a position where they are fighting relegation, but it absolutely is not at this stage.

This match between Spurs and Leicester had a real El Sackico feel to it, and while Van Nistelrooy only had to avoid an eighth defeat in a row, Ange had to win. He didn’t – and if Levy does not make a change, his negligence could see Spurs stumble into a genuine relegation dog fight.