Improving Tottenham must build momentum, says Postecoglou

 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur must build on their improved Premier League form and target a strong finish to what has been a disappointing season, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Friday.

Either side of successive defeats in the League Cup semi-final and FA Cup fourth round, Tottenham managed back-to-back league wins for only the second time this season.

A 2-0 win at Brentford was followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat of Manchester United and Tottenham can make it three wins in a row when they travel to 18th-placed Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Those two league wins have eased fears that Tottenham could be sucked into the relegation battle, and with the club's injury crisis easing and a less demanding schedule, Postecoglou says the buzz has returned to the training ground.

"Obviously our last two Premier League games, Brentford away and Man United at home, have been two important results for us to kind of try and arrest the form in the league," Postecoglou told reporters. "But you need to keep backing that up.

"Tomorrow's an opportunity to do that. It's not easy when you're playing away from home and in the Premier League, especially against a team that's fighting like Ipswich are.

"But it is an opportunity for us now to get another strong performance, get another positive result, and like I said, hopefully provide a bit of a foundation for us to kick on."

Tottenham finished fourth in the new Europa League format, avoiding being involved in a playoff for the last 16.

Without a midweek game for the last two weeks, Postecoglou said it has been an opportunity for some players to recharge their batteries while others have been able to regain full fitness after coming out of the treatment room.

The Australian also said it was a chance for him to start preparing proper coaching sessions again.

"I think there's two aspects of my role that you love more than most. One is game day and the other one is training," he said. "You kind of get frustrated when you're out there and you can't really do what you want to do as a coach.

"Not just me, but the other coaches as well. You kind of design sessions, but you know guys are going to sort of be walking through things and we're just providing information.

"The last two weeks, the training sessions you walk off and you're pretty excited about what you've seen. You feel good about the session you've put on and the coaches get a buzz out of it, the players get a buzz out of it."

Tottenham's last chance of a trophy this season is in the Europa League in which they have been drawn against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the last 16. The north London club are one of the favourites to win the competition, but Postecoglou said that cannot be a distraction from the Premier League.

"Europe's always been at the forefront of our minds and we did really well, and we saw how important it was that we did finish in the top eight, even finishing in the top four, because it kind of helped us this last two weeks," he said.

"It's important, but we must not be dismissive of the league."