Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou needs senior players to step up for must-win clash with Alkmaar | OneFootball

Postecoglou highlights the importance of four-man ‘leadership group’ of Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, James Maddison and Heung-min Son

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To his detractors, Ange Postecoglou often appears tetchy and confrontational in interviews, while his backers tend to view him as affable and charismatic.

After starting his pre-match press conference with the formality of a team news update (Kevin Danso is the latest defender to suffer a hamstring injury), Postecoglou was asked - somewhat inevitably - if his job would be on the line if Spurs fail to overturn a 1-0 deficit in north London.

Postecoglou knows Tottenham’s season is on the line against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday

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A moment later, however, on the very next question, Postecoglou demonstrated his lighter side.

“Hold on, mate," he told an English-speaking regular, pretending to put on the headphones provided for translation into Dutch. “Let’s keep our sense of humour," he added, when the reporter acknowledged the joke.

While Postecoglou is right that elite coaches in are in the unusual position of routinely being asked about being sacked, the reality is that he will need every bit of good humour if Spurs do not raise their game against AZ on Thursday.

The tie is win or bust for Spurs' season and it is hard to imagine Postecoglou's project continuing beyond the end of the campaign if they crash out to the Eredivisie club, who had not beaten English opposition in their 12 previous attempts before last week.

Postecoglou's side were remarkably meek in Holland, mustering a solitary shot on target (and it looked like a mishit cross from Wilson Odobert) and having Guglielmo Vicario to thank for a pair of excellent saves.

Postecoglou blamed the “mindset” of his players on the night, but on Wednesday he pointed to their lack of “intensity” and called for them to replicate the “tempo” of Sunday's 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth, which he felt was closer to his side's true level.

One problem for Postecoglou is that Spurs' lack of intensity could be blamed on their long injury-list during their bleak December and January but that is no longer the case and he can pick close to his best XI tomorrow - Dejan Kulusevski (foot) and perhaps Rodrigo Bentancur (suspended) aside.

Injuries are simply no longer a serious factor for Spurs (at least not one that anyone wants to hear about), so a lack of intensity for such a big game has to come down to the manager.

Cristian Romero is set to start alongside Micky van de Ven at centre-back against AZ Alkmaar

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Postecoglou highlighted the importance of his four-man ‘leadership group’ of Vicario, Cristian Romero, James Maddison and Heung-min Son - all of whom are set to start against AZ.

Romero came through unscathed on his first appearance in three months against Bournemouth, while Maddison - with whom the Argentine shares the vice-captaincy - and club captain Son will return to the XI on Thursday after being rested from the start at the weekend.

The four last started a game together way back on October 19, a 4-1 thrashing of West Ham, and Postecoglou believes their presence can move the dial for a struggling team.

“You want your big, experienced players to perform in these games, for sure,” Postecoglou said. “We have relied a lot on our younger players who have really progressed really well.

“But a night like tomorrow night, having the likes of Romero, Maddison, Vicario and Sonny out there, they are our four leaders and... having all four of them, the whole leadership group out there, will definitely be beneficial.”

Romero was visibly rusty against Bournemouth, while Son and Maddison have struggled for consistency and were among the tamest performers in Alkmaar.

Vicario, though, has been outstanding since returning to fitness, bailing Spurs out in the first leg and against the Cherries with his shot-stopping.

“More than talks, the thing that I am most effective at is how you behave, how you show your behaviour to the youngsters,” said the Italian.

“The responsibility is in action, not just in talks... I think the most important thing is how you act, how you behave into the dressing room and what you show on the pitch.

“Every day we [four] have responsibility on this group. We try to do our best and try to give the good advice to the youngsters.

“But it’s about the collective responsibility. Tomorrow, of course, we know the importance of the game is massive and we’re going to do this test altogether as a family.”

In the end, though, if Spurs do not progress to a quarter-final against Frankfurt or Ajax, the responsibility will rest solely with Postecoglou, who desperately needs his leaders to step up to save Spurs' season and perhaps his job.