LONDON – One of Tottenham Hotpsur head coach Ange Postecoglou's most epigrammatic comments on life in football came in November when he declared: “There are only two states of being a coach: either you are under siege or it is yet to come.” .
As he sits down with ESPN for an exclusive interview minutes after being crowned Manager of the Year at last week's London Football Awards, the question arises as to whether he can ever allow himself to enjoy those moments given that permanent feeling of foreboding.
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“Internally you fight to enjoy it because you know what's around the corner, but at the same time it's not just about me, it's about the people I share the journey with, whether they're coaches, players or my own family,” Postecoglou. says.
“I don't want to deprive them of the rare glimpses of joy that you can sometimes have in this game as a coach. I try to enjoy it, for them more than anything else, but in my subconscious I am always aware that there will invariably be another challenge and I have to be prepared for it.
“I guess most of us are oriented that way, anyone who's been in the game for a while, you prepare yourself for what's coming and that rarely softens in the best moments you have.”
There is a refreshingly earthy pragmatism to Postecoglou's rhetoric that is juxtaposed with the idealistic style he demands of his teams. The combination makes him an intriguing character and a welcome addition to the Premier League.
Postecoglou, 58, joined the Spurs last summer at a time when they were going through something of an existential crisis. The tenures of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte had taken the joy out of a club that considers the cloak-and-dagger approach such a central tradition that “To dare is to do” remains Tottenham's motto today. It might as well have been 'To defend is to do' under Mourinho and Conte, such was the negativity in approach that it contributed to disappointing results that ultimately convinced Harry Kane to leave for Bayern Munich in search of silverware. The club's captain, Hugo Lloris, also made public his desire to move on.
Postecoglou therefore inherited a difficult situation and, despite his success north of the border with Celtic, where he won 83 of his 113 games in two seasons and lifted five of the six domestic trophies available in Scotland, he arrived in England as a relative unknown. Previously, Postecoglou had managed exclusively on the other side of the world from the United Kingdom, winning league titles with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar and Japanese team Yokohama F. Marinos, and managed Australia, the country he emigrated to from Greece as a child. , until the AFC Asian Cup in 2015.
Fast forward to March 2024, and Spurs are firmly in the top four, “Angeball” has entered the Premier League lexicon and the club's supporters have reworked Robbie Williams' 1990s megahit “Angels” to explain how “we love Big Ange instead.” Does Postecoglou even like the term “Angeball”? “It's better than what they could have thought of,” he responds, smiling. “It is what it is.”
The statistics underline a radical transformation based on a high defensive line and a commitment to attacking regardless of the opponent or the state of the game. They are sixth in the league for goals scored (55), fourth for chances created (321) and third for average possession (60.7%). Compare that to last season: seventh in chances created, ninth in possession and, although he was fifth in goals scored, he exceeded his expected goal tally by more than 12, a measure of Kane's relentless consistency. To further illustrate the transformation under Postecoglou, from November 2022 until the end of last season, Spurs had a negative goal difference in the league.
Postecoglou has adapted so quickly in part because he has given a new coaching staff a chance. It is a rarity among top managers as others tend to bring an entourage with them: Conte brought nine members of staff when he left for Chelsea in 2017; Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Chelsea with four backroom colleagues, including his son, sports scientist Sebastiano.
There was speculation that Postecoglou's assistants at Celtic, Gavin Strachan and John Kennedy, would move to Spurs, but instead he named a new line-up consisting of: Chris Davies (senior assistant coach), Mile Jedinak (assistant coach), Ryan Mason (assistant coach), Matt Wells (assistant coach) and Rob Burch (goalkeeping coach).
Postecoglou is not particularly hands-on as a head coach, limiting his daily interaction with players in the belief that distance allows decision-making to remain free of emotion. Therefore, coaches have modified “Angeball” in their own way.
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š„ Highlights: Man City 3-3 Spurs pic.twitter.com/L7zAgqhC4M
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 4, 2023
“What happens is that they bring their own personality to it,” explains Postecoglou. “Like everything in life, they bring their own spin to what I'm trying to create. I make broad strokes, but they look at the details, 'how do we get to that space?'
“I really love watching kids take in the ideas I present to them and see how they make them a reality. It inspires me to keep looking for differences and challenge myself in terms of how we can be even better. Seeing them, how they work, the way where they see what we are trying to create.
“I think if I had stayed with the same people for the last 26 or 27 years, I would be worried about falling into the trap of repeating what I've done before. Although there has been a constant in all the teams I've been on.” “I've made it, there's always been a uniqueness to each of them and I think that's because of the different people I've worked with.”
However, there have been times when faith in Postecoglou's approach has been tested. After winning eight of their first 10 Premier League games (with 26 points taken in that run, the highest total in a manager's first 10 games in the competition), Spurs were beaten 4-1 at home by their bitter rival Chelsea in November. . Despite playing with nine men starting in the 55th minute after the expulsion of two players, they continued to defend almost on the halfway line in search of the winning goal with the score 1-1. Chelsea finally broke through with Nicolas Jackson scoring a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes. Surprisingly, Spurs fans chanted Postecoglou's name after the final whistle.
He was also repeatedly asked about modifying his approach when facing Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in December. He didn't, the Spurs went head to head and ended up with a 3-3 draw.
There is an inherent cynicism towards “Angeball”, a belief that it can be discovered at the highest level over the course of a 38-match Premier League campaign, but Postecoglou believes commitment is the enemy of collaboration.
“It's like anything in life,” he continues. “If you really believe in something, the test always comes when there isn't the obvious result that people are looking for. What do you do in those moments?
“I've had enough in my career to know that if you give in in those moments, you lose, if not the whole group, you lose a part of the group that you're trying to take with you. If you can get through it, in that period and people see: “It's Well, he has a fundamental belief in this, it's not something he's just throwing around,” I think it allows for greater acceptance.
“However, with time, results have to come. People are not going to follow blindly. I enjoy those moments because they test me and I go to bed and wake up with the same determination every day. That helps me. The only “The reason I've been on this path for so long is because I want to be successful and I want the club I'm at to be successful. I don't want anything to derail us from the direction we're trying to create.”
Postecoglou believes he is only getting started as he aims to end Spurs' 16-year wait for a trophy. The shrewd signings of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven along with the revival of players such as Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie (whose careers at the club had stalled) will require further reinforcements this summer to continue Tottenham's progress with their The manager is unashamedly determined to try and rival Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal at the top.
That chase reflects Postecoglou's personal quest to feel like he belongs at the end of the game. He is the first Australian to manage the Premier League and previously spoke of overcoming snobbery towards his achievements in his home country and Japan while trying to establish himself in Europe.
Postecoglou once expressed his hope that his time at Spurs would “break some stereotypes and allow people to open their minds.” So has that glass ceiling for Australian managers now been broken?
“It's hard for me to say because in this kind of thing the test comes with what follows,” Postecoglou says. “Look, the way I look at it, I still haven't made the impact I want to make, particularly in the Premier League, but even on this side of the world yet. “I'm still pushing to prove myself within myself over what do”. I believe I can have an impact.
“If I stretch it further, Harry Kewell went to Yokohama – he's the third Australian coach since I got there. “That shows me that it has filtered into that part of the world, definitely.
“The next test will be here. I enjoyed my time at Celtic and I think I made a real impact there, but making a real impact here in the Premier League will help speed up that process.”
