Ange Postecoglou jokes Brennan Johnson’s social media trolls have been left ‘looking for a change of pants’ after the Spurs winger’s late League Cup strike

Ange Postecoglou gave Brennan Johnson reason to smile at the end of a difficult week with a quip about the courage of his online trolls.

Johnson disabled his social media accounts when he was a target for abuse after Tottenham‘s defeat at home by Arsenal before hitting back with a stoppage-time winner in the Carabao Cup at Coventry, three days later.

‘He won a game of football for us with a really good finish and at the critical moment,’ said the Spurs boss. 

‘I reckon you put any of his critics in that situation and they would be looking for a change of pants pretty quickly.’

Johnson, a £47.5million signing last year from Nottingham Forest from under the noses of Saturday’s opponents Brentford, reluctantly acknowledged the travelling fans after prompting from captain Son Heung-min following his late winner at Coventry.

Johnson scored the winner to keep Tottenham’s Carabao Cup journey alive

‘Brennan has had a dream of being a professional footballer his whole life from a little kid and now he’s living that dream I’d hate to think he’s not enjoying it,’ said Postecoglou, who also urged people not to rush to judge Dominic Solanke.

Tottenham opted for Solanke ahead of Brentford’s Ivan Toney, paying Bournemouth £65m and making him the most expensive Premier League signing of the summer but he was injured on debut at Leicester, did not return until the Arsenal game and is still searching for his first goal.

‘Take a breath, do a bit of yoga,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Think about the world for a second, then make an assessment.’