Ange Postecoglou has explained why the managerial challenge at Tottenham is very unique compared to other clubs and has been candid about what needs to change in the way the club operates.
At this point in time, the Postecoglou project seems to be heading the same way as the ones undertaken by some of his predecessors, with the Australian struggling to get a tune out of the players in his second season in charge.
It is something that has played out repeatedly over the last six years at Tottenham and reports now indicate that Spurs are likely to part ways with Postecoglou at the end of this campaign.
The 59-year-old has now given an honest diagnosis of the challenges he has encountered at Spurs and has offered an opinion on what needs to change.
Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham have to be more vocal
The Tottenham boss acknowledged that the challenge of the Spurs job is very unique, given the recent history of the club, but admitted that he knew exactly what he was taking on.
He suggested that every fight at the club becomes an internal one, and there is very little done to defend Tottenham from external accusations.
Ange Postecoglou said about the Tottenham challenge (via Football.London): “It’s just different, for sure it’s different. But I kind of knew…I knew that coming in. If anyone comes into this role and thinks it’s going to be a smooth ride or an easy ride, knowing the history of the club, I think don’t take the role.
“So none of that’s kind of surprising to me. I knew what I was taking on, I knew this was going to be a tough gig for sure because there’s a whole weight of things you’re trying to rail against. So from that perspective it is different to other clubs I’ve been at for sure. But other clubs have had different challenges that you can overcome.
“A lot of it is also how the club is viewed externally. It seems like every fight ends up being an internal fight at this club. There’s never any sort of defending of the club or the club defending itself, it seems like to me which makes it even more difficult because every club goes through tough moments and it’s how you react to them. That’s a unique challenge, but I accepted that challenge so I’ve got to try to find a way to overcome it.”
When asked how that challenge can be overcome, the Tottenham boss responded: “By being more vocal. I hope not (just the manager). I think you hear enough from me, you probably hear too much from me, to be honest, I think.
“It doesn’t have to be just from people at the club. I hear plenty of people talking and defending other clubs, but it seems with Tottenham wherever there’s a sore there’s a real pile on to sort of stick a finger in that sort and then we kind of accept our fate.
“I think the fact that out of last night the big story out of that is that my interaction with the fans and not the fact a game of football was materially changed by technology, and again I know people will say ‘well, we got to the right decision’, that’s not what I’m talking about.
“I’m talking about VAR said clear and obvious, six minutes for clear and obvious, and I’d have thought that would be the story from last night but it’s not. It’s, again, it’s my interaction with the fans and how I’ve made things more difficult. You kind of go ‘ok, well that’s the challenge we face.”
Postecoglou defends his poor Spurs record
The Tottenham head coach suggested that the narrative around Spurs changes too quickly and that the club did not get enough credit for achieving a fifth-place finish last season despite all their disruptions.
Postecoglou is not deterred by the outside noise, insisting that he is determined to fight on and make this project a successful one.
When asked if it was fair that he is the only individual at the club fronting up to the media on a weekly basis, Ange Postecoglou: “But again, that’s not an unknown. It’s not like that’s changed. I knew that taking on the role. So if I wasn’t prepared to accept that, then I shouldn’t have taken on the role. I took on the role, I accepted that challenge,” stressed the head coach.
“Fair to say this year hasn’t worked out. But that’s the other thing. We finished fifth last year. In another year, that would have been a Champions League spot. With people, it just doesn’t register. If you have five years at a club and you have maybe one or two disappointing years but you have three really strong years you’d say: ‘I’ll take that.’
“But here you can’t have one good year … and last year was a good year, I don’t care what anybody says. We lost Harry [Kane]. I know everyone talks about our start. We lost Harry. We finished fifth. We changed the way we played. But it seems like, well, you have one good year, you have one poor year and then that’s it. Let’s move on to the next.
“But that’s what I accepted so I can’t sit here and say: ‘Ah, woe is me.’ That’s the challenge I accepted. Fair to say at the moment I’m not doing a good job of turning that mind-shift around. But as I said earlier, I am a fighter. I will continue fighting until told otherwise.”