Ange Postecoglou has said he was subjected to “vile and detestable” abuse during Tottenham Hotspur‘s FA Cup third-round win at Tamworth on Sunday.
Spurs required extra-time to secure a 3-0 win against the lowest-ranked side left in the competition.
Postecoglou appeared to embrace the non-league atmosphere at The Lamb Ground with one video circulating widely on social media showing the 59-year-old laughing in response to some negative chanting from a section of the 3,720 crowd.
However, speaking on Tuesday he reflected on a small minority he said soured the occasion after receiving a memento from the Tamworth staff.
“They got me a nice coffee mug with my face and to [Tamworth manager] Andy [Peaks’] face on it,” Postecoglou said.
“A couple of handsome blokes. I can look at that and remember that game fondly. Thank you. Good people.
“Credit and Andy his players and the people of Tamworth at the football club. I thought they did themselves proud on the day with the way they presented everything — 90% of the crowd were very good and enjoyed the banter.
“There was 10% who were pretty unacceptable. The stuff I heard was pretty vile and detestable, and getting things thrown at me, not a great experience, but we’re kind of expected to be the bigger person.
“I would have loved to have turned around and not be the bigger person in that moment, but you deal with it and go on.”
Spurs travel to north London rivals Arsenal on Wednesday and will be without Timo Werner after he sustained a hamstring injury but Richarlison is available again following a similar problem.
“Everything to one side, you know it’s a derby and a big game so irrespective of what’s gone on beforehand and even if we were flying in top position, it wouldn’t change the significance of this game,” said Postecoglou, whose team sits in 12th place, 16 points behind second-placed Arsenal.
“You understand it is a standalone fixture in that it means a hell of a lot to our supporters and to our club.
“So, that’s the focus and that is what we’ve got to hone in on in terms of us wanting to bring our best performance of the day so we can make our supporters happy and also in the context of our season, it’s just really important we start winning games in the league. That is where the emphasis lies.”
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