Postecoglou took aim at those who had raised questions about whether Spurs could be sucked into a relegation battle.
"It goes to show you how ridiculous a notion it was to start with," said Postecoglou.
"People saying we're safe with 12 games to go, and people are actually talking about it. That's the hysteria. And that's all framed around putting pressure on me and the club.
"I get that, when you're in that position you've got to accept that. We always had the Villa FA Cup game as a marker for us. We've got to get to that space as best we could.
"We obviously didn't get the outcomes we wanted during that time. But not through a lack of will or effort from the players.
"That was always my primary concern, to protect them and support them, because they gave everything during that period. Now they've got some help, they've got some rest.
"We're not happy where we are in the league, obviously, it's unacceptable. But we've got an opportunity to address that."