Brennan Johnson has lifted the lid on Ange Postecoglou’s blazing touchline rant during Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Roma.
In-form Johnson netted his ninth goal of the season in Thursday’s Europa League clash but despite his heroics, not everything appeared rosy for the Welshman.
Having restored Tottenham’s lead, 11-minutes before the interval, Johnson soon came under fire from the Spurs boss in an animated touchline tirade.
Television cameras captured an angry Postecoglou appearing to shout: “Brennan get it forward, you’re going back, run in behind.”
The Australian has made no secret of his attack-minded philosophy and one that has seen Spurs top the Premier League scoring charts with 27 goals.
Asked about the incident, Johnson revealed that Postecoglou spoke with him at half-time to address the situation.
“It’s important, he’s such a good manager and I think his view can be a lot better than mine at times,” Johnson told TNT Sports after the match.
In the game, it’s easier to get into your own head a little bit so at half-time he told me a bit of information that was definitely helpful and nothing more than that really.”
Quizzed on the details of his discussion with the Spurs boss, Johnson revealed: “He just said about keep being more positive and that’s all he needs from all of our players, trying to be positive, on the front foot, play forward.
“I think that in the first-half I was guilty of playing back too much, so that was definitely something I took on board.”
Postecoglou’s reaction appeared to be out of character compared to his previous touchline demeanour.
The 59-year-old usually remains calm in his technical area but Johnson’s tactics appeared to rile him up.
Former Spurs great Glenn Hoddle who was on co-commentary duties for TNT Sport said: “Just looking at Ange there. He is not happy with Johnson.
“He wanted some sort of movement at some stage in that build up and he’s really upset. I’ve not seen him like that.”
The former Nottingham Forest winger has shown signs of improvement this season and not just because of his goal record
The 23-year-old struggled to make an impact during his first season at the club and came under fire in the early part of this season.
His work behind the scenes with Postecoglou and his backroom team appears to be paying off with Johnson taking up more threatening positions and showing a composure in front of goal that was missing last season.
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