Ange Postecoglou is happy to take criticism of himself, but staunchly defended his depleted Tottenham squad, insisting they should be left out of the blame.

Spurs suffered a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth-round on Sunday, just days after being knocked out of the EFL Cup semi-final by Liverpool.

Having also lost in the fourth round last term, Tottenham have been eliminated from the FA Cup prior to the fifth round in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014-15 (a run of three).

Until last week, Spurs were fighting on four fronts, having also qualified for the Europa League last 16, but have struggled with an injury crisis since mid-November, with key players missing.

They were missing 11 senior players for their trip to Villa Park, with Postecoglou starting four teenagers as well as 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonio Kinsky, who was at fault for Jacob Ramsey's first-minute opener.

In fact, Archie Gray is one of only three players currently aged 18 or under to have made 25 starts for a club in Europe's big-five leagues this season (25th on Sunday, across all competitions), along with Barcelona pair Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.

Under-pressure Postecoglou was not pleased with criticism aimed at Spurs following their defeat to Villa though, claiming it should be aimed at him, not his squad.

"People can judge me. They can say I have done a bad job; I'm not up to it or whatever. [But] you can't be critical of players or players' performances at this time," Postecoglou told reporters.

"Because if you do, then be as critical of other clubs when they've got 9 or 10 or 11 players out. And none of them have. It can't be that people think that's an excuse.

"That's just not anywhere near close to objective analysis. That's just agenda-driven stuff. If it's to get rid of me, that's fine. Good on you. Go for it a million times."

Postecoglou also pointed to Liverpool's shock 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle earlier on Sunday after Arne Slot had made 10 changes to his starting line-up in an attempt to rotate players during the hectic schedule.

"[Liverpool] did that for one game. Do that for two-and-a-half months in multiple competitions. Any team," he added.

"Why do you think Liverpool and others rotate 11 players? I wish I could do the same. Once we get the rest of the group in, we will be an outstanding team. I have no doubt about that."

Spurs return to Premier League action next Sunday when they face fellow strugglers Manchester United, with both sides toiling in the bottom half of the table.