Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou’s thoughts were finally piqued after Spurs escaped historic embarrassment on Sunday by finally getting the most out of the ball a 3-0 win over Tamworth in extra time at the Lamb Ground in an FA Cup third round match.

Postecoglou began praising both Tamworth’s efforts and his team’s tenacity, but question four was about a change in performance after a midweek win over Liverpool and his demeanor changed.

(REVIEW, HIGHLIGHTS — Tamworth 0-3 a.t. Spurs )

“As far as I know we are in the next round and that was the goal today.”

As expected, Spurs dominated National League play with many of the familiar names starting against the Lambs.

But it took a Tamworth own goal in the first half of extra time to give Spurs the lead, before Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson both found the net in the second period.

But on a weekend that saw Manchester City beat Salford City 8-0, Chelsea beat Morecambe 5-0 and Brighton beat Norwich City 4-0, Postecoglou did not expect this.

Ange Postecoglou reaction – What did Tottenham manager say after Spurs were pushed to the limit in the FA Cup in Tamworth?

“Look, it was a challenging game, as we expected. Thanks to Tamworth they made it difficult for us. When it came to the surface, it was always important that we remained calm and persistent in our football. We needed a goal. Their goalkeeper made a few good saves. We had a few chances that we should have taken better advantage of, but in the end we did it.”

What did he say before extra time? “Just stay calm and persistent. We knew we would finish strong. You could see they were pretty tired, which meant we had more room to play, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Feeling of relief? “It’s a game, a football. You go into every football game knowing that you are afraid that you might make a mistake because of the challenges. We had some challenges today, but for the most part the boys kept a cool head and handled things well. It’s very easy to lose your head on a day like this when things don’t go your way and you realize the consequences.”

From the win over Liverpool to this: “I don’t think the performance level changes, it’s just a football game. It’s a great leveler. It’s difficult to score goals no matter who you’re playing against. As far as I know we are in the next round and that was the goal today.”

On Tamworth: “They did really well today. They should be really proud of their efforts to reach this stage. I’m sure everyone there enjoyed the day and we’ll keep going.”