Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has come out swinging in defence of the club's transfer strategy, insisting that their focus on youth will prove fruitful in time.
The Spurs manager faced criticism from fans after a disappointing 1-0 loss to Bournemouth and an injury to Ben Davies adding to a growing list of sidelined players.
Despite the recent 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City, Tottenham's form has dipped, with three losses in their last six games across all competitions, leaving them 10th in the Premier League table.
However, Postecoglou remains optimistic about the future, citing the need for a rebuild as the reason behind signing young talents like Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, and the soon-to-arrive South Korean prodigy Yang Min-hyuk, alongside the £65million acquisition of Dominic Solanke.
"We needed to do that because it was a team that was coming towards the end of its cycle, and we were rebuilding not just the squad but the playing style, and you couldn’t replace experience with experience because that is not a rebuild," explained Postecoglou.
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"It is still the right decision and I own them (transfers) because I believe they are the right decisions for this club. I have said numerous times, I make these decisions with the kind of background that I’m going to be here for a while to see this through."
Postecoglou also addressed the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, saying: "To be honest, if I was worried about my own existence, I would have fought tooth and nail to block Harry Kane leaving (for Bayern Munich) but it wasn’t the right decision for the club because he was in the last year of his contract. That is not what drives me."
The Australian manager remains confident that his young signings will pay off in the long run, stating: "The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for this club for where we are at right now, and they will bear fruit.
"I’m the person in charge. I’m the person that has set us off in this direction and I am the person who needs to fix it.
"I’m not hurting, I am determined and that’s all. I don’t want to say it is unacceptable because, like I said, it is what it is. I have lived in this world for long enough to know that when people aren’t happy, they’ll express their opinions and I am never going to hide.
"I am never going to shirk that responsibility, that’s fine. I will take it on board. Is it nice? No, because like I said last night I am not just a manager, I am a human being like everyone else and none of us like to hear those sorts of things, but it is what it is.
"It doesn’t disappoint me, it doesn’t frustrate me, it doesn’t make me angry. I am just as determined as ever to get it right, not because of that but because of my resolve to bring success to the football club.
"I don’t need support. I don’t worry about contracts, I don’t worry about support. I just want to make sure that what I set out to do I accomplish, and that is to bring success to this football club."
In terms of team news, Spurs will be without Davies for the Chelsea match, but Cristian Romero may return from a toe injury.
