Spurs 3-1 AZ Alkmaar | Ange’s verdict

Ange Postecoglou said he was ‘super proud’ of the players after we turned around our UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie against AZ Alkmaar to progress to the quarter-finals.

Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in Holland, Wilson Odobert’s first goals for the club (26, 74 minutes) and James Maddison’s precision strike (48 minutes) saw us home 3-1 on the night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 3-2 on aggregate. We now face Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the last eight - first leg back here in N17 on Thursday 10 April, the second leg in Germany on 17 April.

Speaking on our Review Show, Ange told us: “I’m super pleased, so happy for the players and so proud of them. It's not easy... everyone knew it was a big night for us, a big night for the club and you're already 1-0 down and it's very easy to get anxious and nervous, but I felt we were totally in control.

“First half, we didn't create a lot early, but we dominated the game, played in their half. Then we scored and I thought we handled it all really well. Second half, I thought we started outstandingly, got our second goal, but then we gave them a goal which gave them a little bit of momentum, made it nervy, but a great third goal, and we should have had a fourth and finished the game off. So, probably a little bit nervier than we wanted to be at the end, but just super pleased for the players and, like I said, super proud of them.”

Ange on our younger players...

“They’ve been brilliant all year. We all know about Archie and Lucas and people got a glimpse today of Wilson as well. He’s had such a tough year. As a young man, he got a big move to a big club and he was so keen to impress, and I was super excited to get him, I knew he was a talented player. He's worked hard to get back (from injury) and he was outstanding, not just his goals, his general play. He was always exciting when he got on the ball. We've got some exciting young players here and I'll keep saying that with their growth, the whole team will grow.”

Ange on having his leadership team - Heung-Min Son, James Maddison, Cuti Romero, Guglielmo Vicario - back on the pitch together...

“It makes a massive difference to us. You could see tonight, Vic, Romero, even Sonny and Madders felt like they had some support out there, you know, with the other senior guys, and that allowed them to play with a bit more freedom, not having the weight of the team on their backs. I thought we looked so solid at the back, solid as we have all year for that first hour, and that's a great sign because those guys are still not at full fitness. We now get a chance to keep working with them, get them up to the levels we need them to be. We’re in the quarter-finals of a European competition, which is super.”

Ange on the turn around from the first leg to tonight...

“I think it's fair to say the players were as disappointed as much as I was with that, because it was nothing like we wanted to be. There were circumstances on the night that we didn't deal with well, and I just felt we lacked the energy and zest about our football. Tonight was totally different but, again, having Micky and Romero, having Dom starting, having Wilson - all these things make a massive difference to us, not because they’re better players, but they've got this real energy at the moment that the other guys need because they've had a tough season. They’ve shouldered the load for a good three and a half months and these guys coming back have given everyone a lift. I thought it was much more like us tonight.”

Ange on our third goal...

“A super goal. It’s stuff we work on all the time, it's exciting, it's the team we want to be and it's great to see. We haven't seen that for a little while. That comes from the fact that you see Sonny and Madders had a real spark about them today, it helped that we didn't play them at the weekend, saved all their energy for tonight, all those kinds of things I think are helpful.”

Ange on if he can start thinking about the quarter-final now, or if that waits...

“I think you think about it now because… the good thing for us is that we know it’s three and a half weeks away which, like I said, for some of our players, that's a key time. Van de Ven, Romero, Wilson, Dom, all these guys who have missed a lot of football... plus some rest for some of the others, even someone like Djed, who has played so much football recently. I know some of them are going away on international duty, but even that gets them away from here and clears their heads a bit. So, we'll start planning it from now, but we've obviously got an important game (at Fulham) on Sunday, which we need to focus on first.”