It's time for unacceptable Tottenham players to step up - but Ange Postecoglou sack truth remains

It feels like I've written this before, but once again 's season comes down to the next week of action.

Forget West Ham on Sunday - which seems inconceivable to say given the nature of the rivalry - because in this disastrous of all disastrous seasons for , that London derby has little consequence whatsoever.

In fact, next Thursday's trip to Norway will mean very little if Spurs do not get the job done at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight.

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It's in the first leg of the semi-final tonight and it means everything.

We Spurs fans have been starved of success for much of the era. Two League Cup wins are the only silverware we can look back on in the last 34 years.

As one of the so-called big six in the , that is unacceptable.

Bodo/Glimt have won the Norwegian league for the last two seasons, but they are the first team from Norway to ever reach the last four of a European competition. That is what Spurs are up against.

It should not be a tough assignment, but Twente, Olympiacos and Lazio all would have thought the same, all having fallen in Bodo/Glimt's wake.

There is no question that Tottenham will not take this lightly, after all, we're 16th in the Premier League table. The Norwegians are probably looking at it and thinking the hard work was done against Lazio and this is a far easier contest.

While things domestically have not gone to plan, particularly at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs have impressed, particularly at home, in the Europa League.

A 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the last 16 was followed up by a 1-1 draw with Frankfurt in the quarter-finals - a draw that could easily have ended in a two or three goal margin of victory for the Lilywhites.

That was possibly one of the performances of an otherwise dismal campaign and the return in Germany - a 1-0 win to see them into this stage of the competition - was a performance full of grit and determination not often seen this year.

Head coach and the players have spoken about still being able to achieve "something special" this season and that is very much the case. Winning a trophy, any trophy, is something Spurs supporters have craved for years. It would be special, that is for sure, but it should not save the Australian from the sack.

Will it make up for the season we've had in the Premier League? Absolutely not. It's been a complete shambles. And it should end with being relieved of his duties.

The players need the crowd tonight, although I can almost guarantee an incredible atmosphere, despite the apathy towards the team this season. But on the flip side, the crowd need the players to step up and be counted.

After a dismal season, it all comes down to these two - hopefully three - games in Europe. The supporters deserve more, much, much more than the head coach and the players have given them this season. Tonight is the night to show it.