Ange Postecoglou has made a clear statement about his vision for the future after guiding Tottenham Hotspur to their first trophy in 17 years and answering whether he is the man to continue building on the foundations he has laid at the club.
Ange Postecoglou and the Spurs players were understandably overcome with emotions at the full-time whistle at Bilbao, with their historic Europa League success coming on the back of an extremely testing season.
All the criticism and hardships that the staff and the playing squad have endured this term have made the success even sweeter.
There was some speculation over whether Postecoglou would walk away from the Tottenham job on a high after winning the Europa League, but the Australian has made a clear statement about his future.
Ange Postecoglou is hungry to drive Tottenham forward
The Tottenham boss was unambiguous about his ambition in his post-match press conference, insisting that he is determined to continue building on the foundations laid at the club over the past two years.
Postecoglou remarked that the Spurs players would be hungry for more success now that they have tasted silverware and made it clear that he still has unfinished business at N17.
When asked if he is hungry to drive Tottenham forward, the 59-year-old responded (via Football.London): “Very. Because we’ve got a really young group of players. And you can talk to them about success and what it means, but until they feel it, it doesn’t become real. I’ve got no doubt that all those boys tonight, having this feeling will want it again. And to get it again they’re going to have to make similar sacrifices.
“They’ve climbed the mountain now. They know what it takes to get to where we are. I think that does, it accelerates the opportunities to build a team who can be successful, and play at a high standard for years to come.
“As I said yesterday, I still feel there’s a lot of work to be done, I think that’s quite obvious. But not as much work as people may think. People can bang on about 20 league defeats and where we are, but they’re missing the point of what we’re trying to build, or what I’m trying to do anyway. I really feel that tonight can be a great platform for us to kick on.”
Will the Europa League win save Postecoglou’s job?
Ahead of the final, it was widely reported that Tottenham were likely to sack Postecoglou no matter what happened in Bilbao.
However, it will now be a very brave call by Daniel Levy and the Spurs hierarchy to sack the first manager to bring silverware to the club since 2008.
Over the last few days, Tottenham’s search for a new manager appeared to be accelerating, and it will be interesting to see if there is a pause on that search following the events of Wednesday night in Bilbao.
READ MORE: What Daniel Levy said in speech to Postecoglou and Tottenham players after Europa League victory