Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham have reached a point where even the “good stuff” they produce will attract an element of criticism.

The Spurs head coach was responding to a question about Mathys Tel, who struck a last-minute penalty to safeguard a 3-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, despite Brennan Johnson having the opportunity to complete a hat-trick.

Spurs’ victory over bottom club Saints – who were relegated in the process – was their first in five Premier League outings as they languish 14th in the table, having lost 16 league games this season.

“We scored, we won. Delighted. It’s incredible. If we’re 2-1 up and we get a penalty in the last minute, I want our best penalty taker to take it,” Postecoglou said.

“The one slight against this club is that it hasn’t been a winner. The winners’ mentality in the last minute is to score. We scored and somehow, in this alternate universe, everything Tottenham does is negative.”

Tottenham travel to Wolves at the weekend with the third-worst away record in the division, but before then return to Europa League action by hosting Eintracht Frankfurt, with many suggesting Postecoglou’s future at the club could depend on whether or not he can salvage a poor season by ending the club’s 17-year trophy drought.

Opta places their chances of winning the competition at 17 per cent.

Spurs have only won one of their last 13 major European quarter-final matches, but have triumphed in two previous home games against Thursday’s opponents Frankfurt, who won the Europa League themselves in 2022.

“Even the good stuff we may do is turned into ‘glass half-empty’ rhetoric,” Postecoglou continued. “That can’t be a driver. The lads are keen to bring success to the club, keeping driving the principles of this journey in terms of playing our football.

“Hopefully we worked our way into a position where we can make an impact on a disappointing season. I don’t think I can win the argument of convincing people. The general sentiment of people is ‘even if I win [the Europa League] I’m gone anyway’.

“We’re in a quarter-final, we don’t want to let that slip us by or have the wrong mindset. I think the players are handling it well, embracing the challenge.”

Tottenham’s injury woes have eased considerably, however the main miss will be Dejan Kulusevski, who has three goal contributions in Europe this year, while Kevin Danso also remains absent.

Postecoglou added: “We’ve got ourselves into a position where we have an opportunity to progress to the final stages. We have to focus on having a strong home performance.

“It’s important we play the football we want to play, we’re getting ourselves back into maintaining our levels.

“I’ve said before [criticism] isn’t what drives me. I came with a clear vision – changing the way the team plays to rejuvenate the squad, because it was coming to the end of a cycle. Irrespective of noise, I don’t see why that should diminish my ambition and desire to make that happen.

“Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. This is just another struggle. Never have I thought I’ve lost the will to fight. I’ll continue to do that.”