Pedro Mendes: Postecoglou Comments Piled Pressure On Himself And Spurs Players

Pedro Mendes will be one of the star attractions at the Scottish Masters which takes place at Aberdeen’s P&J Live on November 14.

The ex-Tottenham and Portsmouth midfielder will be playing alongside some of the great Rangers players from the past like Barry Ferguson, Kris Boyd, Jermain Defoe and Lee McCulloch in a four-team competition.

Mendes’ former club Rangers will also be up against arch rivals Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United, who are sponsored by Gambling.com. Tickets are available here. 

* Attention football fans, want to win the cost of your season ticket back? Enter our free competition below. A winner chosen every month this season.

The Portuguese spent 18 months with Spurs from 2004, scoring one goal in 30 Premier League appearances, but in January 2006 he joined Portsmouth where he won the FA Cup in the 2007/8 season under Harry Redknapp.

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, Mendes talked about his former clubs and started by addressing comments made by Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.

After coming in for some flak following the north London derby defeat to Arsenal, the Australian countered by saying he “always wins things in his second year. Nothing’s changed.”

Mendes believes that statement has turned up the heat on Tottenham, who are 11/4 with football betting sites to finish in the top four.

He said: "You must have some pressure to win trophies. A team like Spurs can't go such a long time without any silverware. The fans deserve that. 

"For the manager to say that, it puts pressure on him and also on the players. It takes that responsibility to the players. They need to perform. They need to improve. 

"Even when the game doesn't go their way, they need to step it up and play with that passion that Spurs deserve.

"You saw the joy at the beginning of last season, because of what the players were showing for the team and that spirit. That's something they need on a daily basis - week in, week out.

"Of course all new signings need time in a new reality. But in the Premier League you need to step it up straight away as well. You can't just drop points for fun. 

"I think if Spurs qualify for the Champions League and win one of the Cups, it will be a successful season for them."

Betting sites make Tottenham 14/1 to win the FA Cup this season or 12/1 for the Carabao Cup.

Although Spurs have yet to click this season, Mendes is confident Postecoglou will stick with the attacking philosophy which attracted so many admirers in his first season in north London.

He said: "I think it's quite unique. If you look at last season when they were two or three men down, they just played the same way.

"He’s a manager that likes entertaining football and the team to play well. But again, you need consistency. You can't play a fantastic game on a Sunday and the next week drop points."

One player who could bring success to Spurs this season is James Maddison who has started every Premier League match for Tottenham and scored his first goal of the campaign in a 3-1 victory over Brentford.

Maddison was left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024, but Mendes believes it is only a matter of time before the former Leicester midfielder is back in the international fold.

"He’s a really good, technical player. I think it was a fantastic signing for Spurs,” Mendes said. "That's a tough one (if he should play more for England). If you look at England's squad, it's got so much talent. You see some fantastic, quality players not getting any time with the English national team.

"I think if you step up and be one of the main players for Spurs, the manager needs to put him in the national team."

"If it’s not the starting XI, at least a valid option to come in. Spurs must be a team where their best players are on and have games in the national team, and I think Maddison can be one of the Spurs best players."

Three months after winning the FA Cup with Pompey, Mendes joined Rangers and won the Scottish title in his first season at Ibrox, although he missed the Scottish Cup final owing to injury.

Current manager Phillipe Clement signed 11 players during the summer transfer window, but Mendes says they do not have the time to adapt and must hit the ground running just as he and his fellow new recruits did when they were at Ibrox.

He said: "It’s always difficult when new players come in at Rangers. It’s a different reality for sure, compared to the clubs that they came from. 

“Sometimes you need time to adapt to a new reality, the new challenge you have ahead of you and the pressure you’re under, because at Rangers a draw is a bad result. So you need to win every single game.

"There’s quality players there, but sometimes you need to give them time, but at Rangers you don’t have time. You just need to train and be on top of your game as soon as you sign.

"Even in my time, during the season we were six or seven points behind (Celtic). The main thing then is for the players to believe in themselves, the manager and the process."