'You're going to have to put up with me for a bit longer'

"You're going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer."

On Wednesday, Ange Postecoglou admitted to having "no idea" if he would still be in a job following the Europa League quarter-final second leg trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.

But, following Thursday's 1-0 victory in Germany, Tottenham are through to a semi-final against Norway's Bodo/Glimt and have a first trophy in 17 years in their sights.

"Our fans have been through a tough time. Hopefully this gives them something to look forward to," said Postecoglou, whose Spurs side are 15th in the Premier League.

"I'm the same coach that I was yesterday. The players have never lost belief. People like to mock and diminish my achievements but I'll leave that there.

"I don't care, it doesn't bother me, it doesn't affect what I do. For me, it's always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe?

"That's much more important than what others may make of me.

"So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you're going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer."

Despite being on the way to equalling their lowest Premier League finish, set in 1994, Postecoglou said he never lost faith in his players and feels his players have kept faith in him.

"They've been so united in believing in what we're trying to achieve here," the Australian manager said. "And that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back [from injury], that I really believed this team could achieve. That is what keeps driving me.

"Not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we're doing. That is crucial when you're having a difficult season, but there is also a season of opportunity there."

Postecoglou, with his back against the wall, lives to fight another day.

We will never know whether Tottenham would have relieved him of his duties had they gone out of the Europa League on Thursday - but he was certainly under huge pressure heading into a game that was probably the biggest of his reign so far.

Victory buys the Australian some time - you can't see a scenario where Tottenham would sack him before the semi-final.

But while it keeps the wolves from the door for now, he isn't out of the woods yet.

While Europa League success is a factor, it won't be the only consideration for Spurs when it comes to them deciding whether Postecoglou is head coach next season.

Their Premier League form, which has be extremely poor, will be taken into account as will Postecoglou's connection with the supporters, which has been mixed to say the least.

With a win in Germany, Postecoglou has given himself a fighting chance, although this result alone is unlikely to be enough to keep his job safe in the longer term.