Ange Postecoglou’s second term at Tottenham Hotspur has seen a dip in performance compared to his debut season, sparking rumours that he might depart at the end of this campaign regardless of the outcome in the Europa League final.

This sentiment was echoed by football pundits Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane during their coverage of the match against Manchester United in Bilbao.

The showdown at San Mames pitted two Premier League underperformers against each other, with a coveted Champions League spot up for grabs. Prior to kick-off, Spurs were languishing in 17th place in the league, just below United.

CBS Sports pundit Carragher speculated that even a victory might not secure Postecoglou’s future at the club – a victory they indeed clinched, thanks to Brennan Johnson’s scrappy first-half goal.

“I’ll be very surprised, no matter what the result is tonight… well, not surprised, I don’t think he’ll be Tottenham manager [next season],” Carragher mused before the game. “Basically he’ll have two games left as the Tottenham manager, tonight and at the weekend.”

Keane concurred when asked if he shared Carragher’s view: “I think so,” he said. “The pressure he’s been under – to lose 21 games, that’s hard to take.”

“But if he can win a trophy, you’d think this is probably in a strange way a good time to leave, but of course if he loses I think the pressure will just be mounting on him.”

With only one more league match remaining against Brighton on Sunday, if Carragher and Keane’s predictions hold true, it could mark Postecoglou’s final outing as Spurs’ manager.

Carragher has commended the Aussie for his impressive debut season at Spurs, despite acknowledging a more challenging second year at the helm, marked by patchy league performances and a noticeable edge in media interactions. He dismissed the notion that a spate of injuries could be used as an alibi, suggesting instead that the manager’s demanding tactics might contribute to the team’s fitness woes.

“I think he had a really good first season considering they lost arguably the greatest player in the history of the club in Harry Kane,” Carragher said. “This season there’s no doubt they’ve had injuries.”

On Spurs’ style of play, Carragher added: “It’s very intense, very on the front foot; he doesn’t change, and I think his press conferences are probably more entertaining than the team this season. Even yesterday, on the eve of a European final, he was still going at people and being on the front foot.

“I haven’t been a manager, and I know sometimes I’d probably be like that with reporters, but it’s every game. It’s almost like a constant fight and a battle, and every press conference feels like an event.”