Tottenham Hotspur

Ange Postecoglou has, for months now, been determined not to get bogged down in whether his team will qualify for the Champions League.

He sees the whole exercise as unnecessary and unhelpful for several reasons. The prospect of relying on success in Europe for Arsenal or West Ham to turn fifth place into a Champions League spot is not something any Spurs fan would want to contemplate, let alone the manager.

Also, given Spurs’ run-in over the next month or so with huge games against Chelsea jammed into a schedule that already includes Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, setting points targets or expectations in this remarkably difficult season to predict would pile extra needless pressure onto his squad.

This Tottenham group remains new, young and relatively inexperienced. Having to play in those fixtures at this stage of a Premier League season would test the most seasoned campaigners. They have learned a great deal already so far this season and the next few weeks will show the manager how they react in this highly pressurised situation.

When you speak to Postecoglou, particularly after a game, he always seems to be absorbing and assessing what his team have just shown him. He is convinced this squad can and will improve next season, whether they finish in the top four (or five!) or not.

Champions League football would be a splendid prize in a year that was supposed to be all about rebuilding and consolidating after the restructuring over the summer.

He does not think that should be the barometer of success or failure like so many Tottenham teams in years gone by.

It is rarely dull at St James’ Park so as I tottered along on Saturday I confidently expected fireworks. The home side did not disappoint and the quality of Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes should not be glossed over.

They were unstoppable, but what about Spurs!

It must have been shocking for Ange Postecoglou and all Tottenham fans to witness such an uncharacteristically insipid performance. But why did it happen?

Eddie Howe played a tactical blinder, exploiting the naively high defensive line. Will Ange ever change that? The answer is an emphatic no. There is also the fact that the high intensity ‘Ange-ball’ style wears players out over the course of a season. Postecoglou will fix that over the summer by increasing the squad size if he is given the funds.

The most obvious problem on the day however was that the normally brilliant Micky van de Ven had a shocker. I honestly thought he must have been wearing the wrong boots as he slid like Bambi on ice every time anyone threw him a dummy.

Maybe he was carrying an injury or was not getting enough cover, or we were just discovering that he does not have quick enough feet at close quarters for this level. We will find out soon enough.

On the positive side, others have had high profile disasters this season and recovered. Kieran Trippier had a toe-curling few weeks and Raheem Sterling had such a horror show for Chelsea against Leicester in the FA Cup that his own fans booed him off.

Best just ignore social media, blank the highlights on TV, then hope and believe it was just a bad day at the office.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter

Image source, Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund's magnificent victory against Atletico Madrid was great news for on-loan Manchester United star Jadon Sancho and Marcel Sabitzer, who left Old Trafford after spending the second half of last season on loan with Erik ten Hag's side.

However, it was bad news for England's chances of a fifth Champions League place next term.

Borussia Dortmund gained points for their match victory and a bonus for reaching the semi-final.

Those three co-efficient points are then divided by seven - the number of German teams who played in Europe this season - and added to their total.

It takes Germany onto 17.214, still trailing Italy, who have 18.428, but crucially, clear of England, who have 16.750.

The battle is not over yet but England could really do with Arsenal knocking out Bayern Munich tonight or West Ham reaching the Europa League semi-finals at the expense of Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.

Tottenham are hoping to extend the loan of Germany and RB Leipzig winger Timo Werner, 28, rather than triggering their option-to-buy clause in the existing deal. (HITC, external)

However, Spurs will listen to offers for 23-year-old Spain winger Bryan Gil in the summer. (Football Insider, external)

Finally, the club are considering a move for Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine midfielder Giorgi Sudakov, 21. (Caught Offside, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

The last time I felt confident in Spurs’ ability to win a match was under Mauricio Pochettino.

Sure, the beginning of the season was wonderful but somehow it felt too good to be true. Recently, it feels like no matter how strong the team selection appears on paper, you never quite know what to expect on the pitch.

Postecoglou demands a lot from his players, so they all need to be in top form in order for his system and plan to succeed.

For better or worse, we win together as a team and lose together as a team. But, when one or more players are having an 'off day', be that physically or mentally, it affects the whole team because this system relies so much on each individual carrying their weight as part of the whole.

Our biggest strength is also our biggest weakness, and we have been exposed too many times in recent games.

We have loads of possession, but without much end product. Teams are happy to sit back and hit us on the break, where we have to rely on the speed of our centre-backs because our full-backs are too far forward.

We don't do nearly enough man-to-man marking during defensive spells and we certainly don't work on set-pieces enough.

What happens at the training ground? How are we struggling to perform when we only really had to focus on the league this whole season?

Hopefully this is just the messy start of a rebuild process - I suppose neither Jurgen Klopp nor Mikel Arteta had the perfect start.

Anna Howells can be found at Spurs XY, external

Tottenham have made an offer for 26-year-old Tosin Adarabioyo, as they try to beat Manchester United in the race for the Fulham defender. (Teamtalk), external

Meanwhile, right-back Djed Spence, who is on loan at Genoa, is one of several senior players expected to leave Spurs this summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Tottenham are tracking Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and could sign the 25-year-old for between £30m and £40m this summer. (Football Insider), external

Spurs are also interested in signing 21-year-old Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna in the summer. (Tuttosport - in Italian), external

Meanwhile, Bryan Gil could seek a departure from Tottenham. The club would be willing to let the winger leave on a permanent transfer. (Give Me Sport), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

We asked for your views on Newcastle's 4-0 victory over Tottenham on Saturday.

Here are some of your answers:

Newcastle fans

Daniel: Brilliant game to watch. It seems we have our passion for winning back, like how it was at the start of the season. Happy Bruno didn’t get a card, as it means no suspension. Amazing performance from all the lads.

Simon: What a performance. Brilliant work across the field. Strong defensive shape with players supporting each other. Brilliant going forward. I think this is our strongest, most switched on, performance this season. Well done Eddie, staff and players.

Matt: Eddie Howe's tactics today worked perfectly. Gordon, Isak and Barnes terrorised Spurs' high line and when we needed to defend the flexible back five worked well. Anyone still saying Eddie should be sacked surely can’t be saying anything after this. So proud of this team with all the injuries we’ve had.

Spurs fans

Bryan: Another awful away performance with some quite atrocious defending. Do we actually employ any defence coaches? And, yet again, Postecoglou is shown to have no plan B and is seemingly incapable of adapting his tactics to curtail the opposition. He's starting to divide Spurs fans. Personally I think he's out of his depth.

Paul: Wow! Another shocking defeat, but an even worse performance overall. We lost every 50/50 challenge and the defenders were in a constant state of panic. For the first time since he took over I was disappointed in Ange’s leadership and tactics. We should buy Isak as soon as possible as we need a quality striker who leads the line and carries a goal threat.

Joseph: Watching Spurs is like Groundhog Day. Every match is the same. Constant sideways and backwards passes with no creativity or penetration to break down the opposition. And shocking defending, especially at set-pieces. You can guarantee they'll let in a goal from a corner, leaving someone a free header. Ange's honeymoon period is over. Sort it out!

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Manchester City v Luton Town

Bournemouth v Manchester United

Image source, Getty Images

Ange Postecoglou has been swift to play down the importance for Tottenham of qualifying for the Champions League in recent weeks.

The Spurs boss is seemingly more concerned with implementing his playing style, and attracting the right players to the club this summer, than anything else.

A section of Tottenham fans might be able to get on board with that notion, but a return to the glamour of European football's elite competition during the short days of winter are what the majority crave.

After the setback of a disappointing afternoon at St James' Park the task to finish in the top four looks considerably harder for Spurs given their run in.

The north London derby is followed by matches against Chelsea, Liverpool, Burnley and Manchester City.

Four out of Spurs' next five games will pose a stern test of Postecoglou's managerial credentials.

They need to pick themselves up from this disappointing 4-0 defeat.

And quickly.

• Only Liverpool (42), Arsenal (38) and Man City (38, before today’s game) have earned more points in Premier League home games this season than Newcastle (36).

• Each of Tottenham’s past three Premier League defeats by 4+ goals have come against Newcastle at St James’ Park – also 1-5 in May 2016 and 1-6 in April 2023. Indeed, they’ve now lost by 4+ goals against Newcastle more often than they have vs any other opponent in Premier League history (5).

• With one goal and two assists, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon has been involved in three goals in a Premier League match for the first time. Meanwhile, he’s also had a hand in more home goals than any other player in the Premier League this term (15 – 9 goals, 6 assists).

• Tottenham have now conceded 61 Premier League goals against Newcastle at St James’ Park, only conceding more at one away venue (64 at Anfield).

• Alexander Isak scored his 16th and 17th Premier League goals of the season for Newcastle – it’s the joint-most netted by a Swedish player in a campaign, along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016-17.

Ange Postecoglou speaking to BBC Match of the Day after Tottenham's defeat to Newcastle: "It's a tough one, a bit raw at the moment. Credit to newcastle, I thought they were really good today. We never really got to grips with the game and weren't able to execute any of the stuff we usually do. Credit to them but just have to take them."

On whether Newcastle's two quick goals made the difference: "I thought even before that we lacked a little bit of conviction today throughout a lot of things. They can hurt you particularly in transition and they did that today."

On whether he thought his triple-substitution worked: "They tried hard, it's difficult because to be fair we didn't have anyone playing near the levels. Tried hard enough."

On needing to bounce back: "You've got no choice. You can't sit there and feel sorry for yourself, it's not the nature of what we do. There's some lessons in there, we've got to take them and look ahead."

Alexander Isak's rich goalscoring form at St James' Park continued as Newcastle beat Tottenham to boost their hopes of European football next season.

Isak produced two clinical finishes to score in each half as he netted on home turf for the sixth consecutive match.

The striker now has 17 goals in 24 Premier League appearances this season.

Anthony Gordan and Fabian Schar were also on target for the Magpies, while Timo Werner had two chances for Spurs but his finishing let him down.

Newcastle's emphatic victory lifted them up to sixth in the table - a point ahead of Manchester United, who face Bournemouth at 17:30 BST on Saturday.

Spurs dropped to fifth and are still level on points with Aston Villa but below Unai Emery's side on goal difference.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Newcastle fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Spurs fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Six matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Man City v Luton

• Bournemouth v Man Utd

All times BST

Follow BBC Radio 5 Live commentaries and live text updates here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on actor and Leyton Orient fan Daniel Mays.

Sutton's prediction: 2-3

What a game this will be. I was at Newcastle's 4-3 win over West Ham at the end of March and I am expecting a few goals this time too.

I didn't see Newcastle's win at Fulham last week coming, but it was a great result and it means they are looking up the table now, with their sights set on sixth place.

Tottenham's target is to finish fourth and they won't settle for a point here. It is going to be very close but I have got a feeling they will edge it.

Daniel's prediction: 2-1

This is a really tough one to call. They really get going at St James' Park so, as much as I am a Spurs fan, I am going to back Newcastle here.

See the full list of predictions here

Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Newcastle United.

Here are the key lines from the Tottenham boss:

• Richarlison will not be available because of a knee injury but he will be back to face Arsenal on 28 April which "is more important".

• He said Spurs "have had good preparation" for Saturday's game but "will need to match" Newcastle's energy to get a result at St James' Park.

• On Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's performance against Nottingham Forest: "He was good. He has not started as many as he probably would have liked, but he has done a good job for us. We are in a good place where I can make these changes within games."

• He said decisions on players leaving this summer will be made post-season, but they will be made with what is "beneficial" for the club's growth in mind.

• On having a large squad when loan players return: "It's an ongoing process. This year we are a lot more calm in our approach because we've been working on it a while with Johan [Lange, technical director] and the people in the football department."

• He said he backs the introduction of semi-automated offside next season "if it's quicker and clearer" than the current process.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences here

Liverpool's unexpected defeat by Atalanta on Thursday, coupled with West Ham's late reverse at Bayer Leverkusen, has damaged England's hopes of securing a fifth Champions League spot next season.

Both England and Germany gained two co-efficient points on the night, thanks to victories for Aston Villa and Leverkusen.

However, Germany's points are worth slightly more as they are divided by seven – the number of Bundesliga teams in Europe this season – rather than England's eight.

So, Germany remain in second spot in the overall table on 16.785, just ahead of England on 16.75.

Additional points are awarded for qualification as well as match results, so Arsenal and West Ham's second legs against German opposition next week are going to be crucial.

With five points on Thursday, from two wins and a draw, Italy has now moved clear at the top with 18.428 and are now virtually certain to get one of the two additional places in next season's Champions League.

Roma, fifth in Serie A, are in line to profit, although it also benefits surprise challengers Bologna, who are fourth.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has made a centre-back one of his transfer priorities, with 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen and Ecuador international Piero Hincapie on his shortlist. (Bild, via Teamtalk), external

Spurs are also interested in signing Union Saint-Gilloise and Algeria striker Mohamed Amoura this summer, but they face competition from West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers for the 23-year-old. (GiveMeSport), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column