Ange Postecoglou hints at longer Tottenham stay

[mawspurs]

The Tottenham Hotspur boss has been talking about the club's past and its future as they prepare to get back into FA Cup action

Source: Football London

 

[Cinemattis]

Ange Postecoglou hints at longer Tottenham stay and is asked about Man United's Onana exit delay

The Tottenham Hotspur boss has been talking about the club's past and its future as they prepare to get back into FA Cup action
Ange Postecoglou has made it clear that he does not have to visualise winning trophies because he has plenty of photographs showing just that.

The Tottenham Hotspur boss is preparing his side for their return to the FA Cup on Friday night against Burnley. Spurs once had a real pedigree in the famous old cup competition, with nobody having won it more than them at one point. However, the north London club have not lifted the FA Cup since 1991 and the supporters have been desperately waiting for the 33-year wait to end.

Postecoglou was asked whether he pictured himself lifting trophies as part of his own process in building silverware-winning teams.

"I’ve got real pictures. Quite a few. I just look at the ones I have got," shot back the 58-year-old, who has won titles in almost every country he's managed during his career as well as the Asian Cup as Australia boss and most recently lifted five trophies in two years at Celtic, including the treble last season.

The response that he was lucky enough to be able to do that when others had not was met with the sharp response: "I’ve earned them - it’s not lucky."

But does he visualise winning silverware when he lies away at night, are those pictures of his success plastered across his ceiling?

"I know what you are saying, but I love winning - it is what I have done all my career. I don’t say that dismissively - and I don’t have them on the ceiling, mate, as you suggested, but that’s what drives me," said the Australian. "Every year I start the year hoping there is a picture by the end of the year of me with a team lifting a trophy. That is what I have tried to do my whole career and I have got plenty of evidence of that, so that’s what my intent is here. I don’t have to visualise it - it’s what I do."

Postecoglou likes the fact that around Tottenham the club's past glories are very much on show for the current crop of players to aim to live up to.

"They are around. The people who have had success at this football club are rightly honoured. If you walk around the home dressing room - those are the only pictures we have got up there," he said. "Teams and individuals that have won things because we know how important they are to this football club. We don’t hide those things away, you absolutely put them up as an example of what you want to be."

He added: "I would hate to think there would be any football club that would not care about winning a pretty significant trophy. For us, like I said, we want to try to win every competition we are in because that is the stature of this football club."

And what of the Spurs head coach's photos of his own success over the recent years? Is there a Postecoglou trophy room full of memorabilia? His answer hinted perhaps at a longer stay at Tottenham than at previous clubs as he finally looks to put down some roots for his family.

Postecoglou likes the fact that around Tottenham the club's past glories are very much on show for the current crop of players to aim to live up to.

"They are around. The people who have had success at this football club are rightly honoured. If you walk around the home dressing room - those are the only pictures we have got up there," he said. "Teams and individuals that have won things because we know how important they are to this football club. We don’t hide those things away, you absolutely put them up as an example of what you want to be."

He added: "I would hate to think there would be any football club that would not care about winning a pretty significant trophy. For us, like I said, we want to try to win every competition we are in because that is the stature of this football club."

And what of the Spurs head coach's photos of his own success over the recent years? Is there a Postecoglou trophy room full of memorabilia? His answer hinted perhaps at a longer stay at Tottenham than at previous clubs as he finally looks to put down some roots for his family.

"You've got to understand these guys, this is where they were brought up. This is where a lot of who they are today comes from and when they go and represent their country and put their shirt on, it’s not just another game of football for them. So I’m sure Sonny and Pape would have loved to have been here with us, but it doesn’t diminish what they do there. I would never rule out somebody because they’re going to represent their country. I think representing your country helps a player develop both professionally and personally."

While Postecoglou has lost his trio of players for the immediate future, Manchester United have held on to goalkeeper Andre Onana a little while long for their game against Spurs on January 14, just 24 hours before his country Cameroon start their Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Guinea and the Tottenham boss was asked whether he felt that was fair.

"Yeah, I don’t think it’s fair or unfair. Each club can deal with it the way we want. There’s other reasons for these kind of things, but no, certainly, what other clubs do doesn’t affect me or the way I view it," he said.

"Ultimately we’re bound by Fifa rules with these things. We want our players to represent their countries. They are big tournaments they are going to and hopefully they are all successful. More importantly hopefully they all come back healthy. I’ve spent zero time [worrying about the Onana situation], not bothered at all what other clubs do."

Postecoglou has now passed the halfway mark in his first season as a Premier League manager but he does not believe it has been more difficult that any other job he has held over his long managerial career.

"I think it’s hard wherever you do it. There’s more focus here for sure but you’ve also got more resources. There are other managers whose first job is a real hard shift," he explained. "Wherever you start, the core thing is that you figure out who you want to be and how you want your team to play, and at every opportunity you have to do that, you try to.

"It’s obviously hard under the spotlight of a competition like the Premier League as every decision gets scrutinised and dissected, and there’s plenty of opinion and advice but you realise none of it really matters if it’s not who you are. I’ve got great respect [for the managers here], whether it’s someone like Vincent [Kompany] in his first year in the Premier League, or somebody like Roy [Hodgson] - even he’s not escaping criticism! But that’s your existence and it will never go away. As long as you know how to deal with it and don't allow it to change you, then you can live with it."

He added: "You’re always learning, even at my age. I’ve tried to make a pact with myself that I’m never going to stop learning, whether it’s about life, football or anything else. I’ve enjoyed the experience so far, it’s everything I’ve wanted it to be whether it’s challenges or the space I’m working in at the same time, the years of experience I’ve had have prepared me well for it."

With Son heading off, having scored 12 goals and produced five assists in 20 Premier League matches under Postecoglou, the Australian admits he had planned for the South Korean's departure but not the chaos of Spurs' long injury list around it.

"I’ve been preparing for [his time away] since the start of the season but I wasn’t preparing to lose half a dozen other players at the same time. If we had some of our injured players available and fit, the absence would be diminished albeit he’s still a significant person at our football club," he said.

"It's not just about what he does as a player, he’s the captain of the club, he's been our leader, an outstanding leader from day one on and off the field. It’s a significant absence.

"From that perspective, in terms of the presence he had on the field, if Romero and Maddison were available, you could diminish it, but they’re not available. With all the other challenges we’ve got, it makes it more difficult. But it’s been like that from day one. We’ve had to overcome these things and it’s just another challenge for us."

On Friday night in the FA Cup, Postecoglou will come up against another manager in Kompany who has stuck to his beliefs and style at Burnley regardless of the criticism he has faced with the promoted Clarets sitting second from bottom of the Premier League table.

"I keep saying I respect every manager and the way they go about it because I know how tough a job it is, whether that’s in the Premier League or anywhere else, but it’s obviously amplified here in the Premier League," said Postecoglou. "We played Bournemouth at the weekend and I think there was similar criticism around Andoni’s work at the start of the year.

"He’s stuck to his guns in the way he wants his team to play. It’s not easy but ultimately it’s the biggest measure of who you are, what you stand for. Invariably, if you change in that moment just because people want you to change and not because you feel it’s the right thing to do, then you’re on a slippery slope because those things never end.

"There’s always challenges. There isn’t a manager, irrespective of where they are… even the ones who are on top still get criticised for something they do. It’s part of your existence as a manager, you need to embrace that and understand that. The test then becomes when people are calling for you to change something.

"It doesn’t mean you don’t, if you think it’s for the right reasons, then you should do it, but if you’re just changing because you think it appeases or somehow will mean people will cut you some slack, it just doesn’t happen. It’s a slippery slope and you end up becoming someone you don’t want to be and ultimately you fail."