Michael Dawson explains why he thinks Postecoglou can be a success at Spurs – Just like Pochettino

Michael Dawson has backed Ange Postecoglou to have a similar invigorating effect on Tottenham Hotspur to Mauricio Pochettino when he arrived at North London in 2014.

While some would argue that the Tottenham hierarchy have taken a gamble by appointing a manager who has not worked in any of the top five leagues, the club have stayed true to their promise of getting in someone who would prioritise attacking football.

Postecoglou’s teams have always received a lot of accolades for the way they play, with the Australian seeming to have an unwavering commitment to high-octane, brave, possession-based football.

Dawson admitted that he is looking forward to seeing Spurs play under the 57-year-old and insisted that the Lilywhites can hurt teams with the kind of attacking talent they have at their disposal.

Dawson thinks Postecoglou can replicate Pochettino

When asked about Postecoglou’s arrival, the Spurs legend told Football.London: “I think it’s very positive.

“I think the way Ange Postecoglou plays with the 4-3-3 formation, it’s very attacking with full-backs going inside at times. He’s done it in Australia, he’s done it in Japan, he’s gone to Scotland and at the time you were thinking how’s he going to go?

“Well he certainly took it by storm, winning the trophies he won and I always say the Premier League is the best league in my opinion. When the opportunity arrives to come to a massive football club and to the Premier League I’m sure he didn’t have to think too long.

“Credit to him, the treble at Celtic this year and he plays attacking football. We know that’s what Spurs fans want to see and we know we’ve got players at the top of the field that can hurt any team.

“Harry Kane, I can only speak so highly of him on and off the field. Spurs’ all-time leading goalscorer and England’s all-time goalscorer. He’s a genius and when he plays football, he will always score goals. He’s absolutely unbelievable.

“Obviously there’s Sonny, he won the Golden Boot this time last year with 23 goals, Harry’s just gone and got 30, as well as Kulusevski and Richarlison.

“We’ve got attacking players in the squad and that’s the way Postecoglou plays and good luck to him. Very positive appointment and great for the football club.”

Dawson admitted that Spurs needed a fresh approach following Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte’s struggles, remarking that Postecoglou offers a similar blueprint to the one Pochettino did when he arrived from Southampton.

He added: “When Jose was appointed we were all thinking what an unbelievable manager, his history, his record. We know how he sets up.

“Unfortunately, if you don’t get results then you come in for a little bit more criticism. Same with Antonio. You’ve got two of the most iconic managers of certainly my era, with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and others.

“Jose and Antonio have won everything so I look back at the appointment of Ange and compare it probably to the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino.

“He finished eighth with Southampton in 2014 when I was here and I moved on. It takes time but he was playing with attacking players, and brought in young players, developed them into superstars, world-class players.

“I think that’s something that Ange Postecoglou will be looking to do and hopefully, he can implement his way and be a success.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While Postecoglou’s appointment certainly entails risk, one can argue that the same can be said of almost any manager, as it proved with both Mourinho and Conte.

The one thing the Australian’s arrival has done is get the fan base excited for the new season.

After three years of watching absolutely turgid football, it now looks like we will at least see us playing on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition.