Ange Postecoglou has rejected the notion Tottenham would have to wait for Manchester City and Liverpool to go through a transitional phase in order to be able to challenge at the top, insisting that it is up to his side to close the gap with those teams.
Liverpool might soon find themselves in a transitional phase after Jurgen Klopp announced last week that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The Reds have been the only side who have had any luck in keeping pace with Manchester City for much of Pep Guadiola’s time at the Etihad.
With Guardiola’s contract at City also running out in 2025, several of the top sides in the Premier League will perhaps be hoping that we could potentially be at the dawn of a new era in the division.
Postecoglou acknowledged that the Premier League champions demonstrated their superiority in the FA Cup clash against his side last week but he did not shy away from asserting that he wants to narrow that gap in the near future.
Postecoglou wants Tottenham to compete with the very best
When asked if Tottenham have to pounce when the likes of City and Liverpool go through a transitional phase, the Spurs head coach responded (via Football.London): “If that’s your only hope, waiting for the top ones to slip, I just don’t think you get there. I really don’t.
“I’d rather them be at their best and we match them, get up to their level and exceed it, rather than hope they slip up. I just don’t think that’s a strategy. It is more of a wish.
“We got a real good indicator the other night and to be fair to the lads we hung in there, and fought hard but we were playing against probably the best side in the world at the moment and there was a difference between us, for sure. If we’re hoping they will come back to us, rather than us try to get to them, you’re chasing a lost cause.
“With those kind of things, it depends. It depends on everyone else. The one thing you know is managers like Pep and Jurgen, they’re not going to stand still. It’s not like it’s a stationary target you’re trying to hit. They’re going to keep pushing the envelope to be better and improve.
“It’s up to everyone else to match that and get up to that and try to exceed it and not shy away from the challenge. They have been very, very dominant teams for quite a while now, but there’s only one way to break that cycle and that is for others to rise to that challenge.
“I just don’t see them coming back to the field. Even with Jurgen going I still think there is a really strong squad there, a really strong mentality. I’ll be very surprised if whoever takes over doesn’t continue to build on that.
“I always think with those kind of things, it’s up to the challengers to change the status quo. That can only happen if you have that sort of desire and will to challenge that and not be afraid of falling short, because ultimately if you don’t, they’re just going to keep winning.”
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While last Friday’s game did expose the gulf in class between us and City, that was to be expected, given that we are still at the start of a new project.
It is worth remembering that even Guardiola did not manage to get the best out of a world-class City squad in his first season in Manchester, with things only clicking to gear in his second campaign in charge.