Ange Postecoglou has explained why he is enjoying the fact that there is huge pressure on his shoulders as he looks to guide Tottenham Hotspur to their first piece of silverware in almost two decades.
The fine margins of football at the highest level were in evidence in Tottenham Hotspur’s clash against Eintracht Frankfurt last Thursday.
If reports are to be believed, Ange Postecoglou might have been sacked the very next day if the Bundesliga club had taken a couple of their late chances and knocked Tottenham out.
However, instead, the Australian is now just a couple of steps away from becoming the first manager since Juande Ramos back in 2008 to win silverware at Tottenham, a feat which big names like Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho failed to achieve.
Ange Postecoglou is loving the Tottenham pressure
The Tottenham boss has been involved in some touchy moments over recent months, which perhaps showed that the pressure and the media scrutiny was getting to him.
This includes some of Postecoglou’s unsavoury altercations with some Spurs supporters, which many saw as signs that the 59-year-old was crumbling.
However, the Australian coach has now insisted that he has loved the pressure right from day one at Tottenham.
When asked about the quote from tennis legend Billie Jean King that “pressure is a privilege”, Postecolgou responded (via Football.London): “It depends on how you define pressure. I think a lot of people assume pressure is something that is a negative.
“What you do know in this role is that it’s a constant, and you either embrace it or you’re never going to be in a space where you’re ever going to be at peace with what you do.
“Pressure is always there, irrespective of where you are. If a Tottenham manager is under pressure, all managers feel that pressure, but there’s also a side of it, if you’re in this kind of role for any length of time, you know you’ll enjoy [it]. The opposite of not having pressure is pretty much not being in a job.
“I can tell you that it is a much worse feeling for anyone who likes this kind of vocation. I love the fact that in every game, everything is on edge; it can go one way, it can go the other. There’s always the unknowns, that’s what I love about it. What others see as pressure is the bit I enjoy. That’s why I do what I do.
“I would hate to think I would go to a football game and not really care about the outcome. I don’t think that world exists where you can just roll up, everyone just loves you, and there is no pressure and the outcome doesn’t matter – that’s just the role. You accept that as part of the role, I have from day one, I enjoy that part.
“In 27-28 years of management, it was only 9-10 months where I wasn’t coaching between roles, and that was the most unhappy I’ve been. And you realise what I miss is this, not this [the media part], what others see as pressure – that competitive unknown that we all strive for. That gets the adrenaline going.
“You saw after the [Frankfurt] game because that is what pressure is. The opportunity to achieve. I take it as a constant.”
Postecoglou on how Spurs players deal with the pressure
Postecoglou insisted that Tottenham’s performance at Deutsche Bank Park last week was evidence that his players also enjoy the added pressure and expectations of big matches, which is something that has been questioned in the media.
The Spurs boss pointed out that everyone at the club stuck together during adversity and praised his players for never losing belief.
When asked if the Tottenham squad also share a similar view of pressure and the enjoyment that brings, Postecoglou responded: “I think so. It’s harder when you’re a player and you’re younger.
“The perception is that pressure is a bad thing but there isn’t a comfortable place if you’re an elite sportsman. Elite sport is about being uncomfortable all the time. I said after the game, this group of players and staff, I’ve never felt like I’ve lost belief, and they’ve stayed really, really united.
“That is why they were able to perform in the manner they did against Frankfurt, because we had the majority of our players available but also through the time they weren’t available, everyone stuck together. Now they have the opportunity to play in a semi-final and hopefully create something special.”