Norway-Ange Postecoglou barely sat at the unveiling of Tottenham Hotspur managers about two years ago when he was first asked about that painful, cursed word: "Spursy".

That day he promised to end it. Now, no matter what he achieved from here, he would go to the exit gate, and Postecoglou brought the Spurs to the UEFA Europa League final in a way that could only be described as "Spursy".

It may be difficult to label them with that tag when removing a fully strikeable Manchester United side.

Of course, you can forgive your eyes - it's a simple title grabber - but it's really everything the Spurs shouldn't do. By winning the second round 2-0 (5-1 in total), he gave his competitor no excuse to poke the old wounds to make the Spurs a joke ass.

"(The result) will make a lot of people feel uneasy," Postecoglou said.

“There will be debates now and neither of us can get the trophy. If we win, we will only take a photo of the team because we are not worth it.

"Who cares if we are struggling in the league? Why is this important? If it's so easy to get to the finals, why wouldn't everyone in the top three do that? I mean, it's an independent thing. It's not about the league format.

The story of this game is a perfect story. Imagine scene: The Premier League Giants play Minnows Bodø/Glimt in the Arctic Circle, and they lost a home game in Europe all season. What's even harder is that when they welcomed the team from the continent, they won 27 of their last 34 games. These victims include FC Porto, Celtic and Roma (at the time coached by Jose Mourinho).

Between artificial turf, frozen temperature and small cauldrons of atmosphere, it is a fortress, and few teams are unscathed. However, the Spurs handled the business.

"They (the players) were well prepared tonight and they performed the perfect execution," Postecoglou said.

"It's a hard place to come in the last few days. I think the lads have done a great job throughout the game, especially the knockout stage and the honors they have."

The Spurs were set up on defense and absorbed their lives from the game. They didn't seem obvious in the first half, as if they were designs. There is no need to perform 3-1 in the first round. It's about getting in. Drama is not allowed. Neither side has many opportunities. It's clean and professional.

Then, after the hour mark, the Spurs hit the ending tie twice and booked their own position in the finals. Forward Dominic Solanke hit a header from Cristian Romero in the 63rd minute, and right-back Pedro Porro later tricked goalkeeper Nikita Haikin into causing the celebration around hundreds of fans.

It is worth noting that Thursday night’s display was not isolated. Sometimes accused of encouraging chaos, risky attack system Postecoglou has begun to be pragmatic. This is the theme of their second leg knockout. They overturned a 1-0 deficit with a 3-1 round victory against AZ Alkmaar. Against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Spurs worked together to perform professionally and won 1-0.

In Bodø, clean sheets are just as impressive as victory. According to ESPN Global Research, Bodø/Glimt scored in every home game in all competitions since October 2023.

Postecoglou has already recorded it, and he feels the Spurs live a "parallel" life between European running since 1994 and their worst Premier League campaign, which put them at No. 16.

The Australian coach quickly fought back against anyone who suggested their league form would reduce that achievement. He said he didn't care about the league table's words: If the Spurs can end their 17-year trophy drought, it would be a successful season.

"What's going on right now is people worrying that it can actually happen because it can happen," PosteCoglou said.

“Let’s see how it was removed, somehow weakened it, saying it was a bad season and we shouldn’t have gotten this or we shouldn’t have gotten it. Or somehow compare us to Manchester United.

"If we had success, maybe I would have had a different view. I could have been sitting right here (in the Premier League) at 5th place and I promise the comments around you would be a big achievement, but this club needs to win some wins.

"That's exactly what everyone will say. Of course, this (will be the European final) is huge."

Postecoglou and Masts will face the fact that they have beaten United three times this season – twice in the league and a craziest victory in December’s Carabao Cup quarterfinals.

This brings us back to the "Spurs".

The Spurs were not at ease in that Calaba Cup conflict. They led 3-0 in the 54th minute, throwing it away somehow, 3-3 times after half an hour. That day, Captain's son Heung-Min scored an extraordinary "Olimpico" goal to win. The Spurs found a way to win, but they still didn't get much respect.

Postecoglou says the Spurs are an easy target that others can target, and reducing that achievement is wrong. It's not easy to play the European finals.

Just as two years ago, his mission was to demand real respect. He knew that it would only be possible to win the trophy at the end of this. Maybe that could even help him make a commitment, as he kept saying.