The Different One: Postecoglou looks to restore the glory days to Tottenham
The first Greek-Australian to manage in the Premier League says he wants to build a team that can win trophies
Lee U-Wen
TOTTENHAM Hotspur have had their fair share of superstar managers in recent years. The likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte have all occupied the hot seat at the North London club, only to be given the boot before their contracts were up.
For all their credentials, none of them managed to deliver a major trophy – something that the Lilywhites (Tottenham’s nickname) have been craving since winning their last piece of silverware, the League Cup, back in 2008.
Pochettino came the closest to breaking that barren run, leading the team to the 2019 Champions League final but ultimately coming up short against Liverpool.
In June this year – 10 weeks after Conte was unceremoniously sacked after an extraordinary rant against the players and the chairman Daniel Levy – the club announced the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as their new manager.
He may not be as familiar a face compared to some of his predecessors, but the 57-year-old – the first Greek-Australian to manage in England’s top flight – brings with him a fair amount of pedigree.
He’s won titles wherever he’s coached during a career that’s seen him lead teams in Australia, Greece, Japan and Scotland. As the head coach of the Australian national team for four years, he won the AFC Asian Cup in 2015 and guided them to the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals in Brazil.
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As Postecoglou gears up for the daunting task of lifting Spurs from the doldrums of their eighth-placed finish in the EPL last season, he makes it clear that he is different and he wants to do things his way.
“Obviously, the size of this football club is bigger than the ones I’ve worked with before, and I’m managing a lot more people. It’s a massive challenge to try and bring success to the club, and it has been hectic, but it’s pretty much what I expected,” he said at an interview session arranged by AIA Singapore earlier this week.
AIA has been the global principal partner of Tottenham since 2013. Singapore is the third and final leg of the club’s pre-season tour of the Asia-Pacific, with the team already visiting Perth and Bangkok before landing in the Lion City.
On Wednesday night (Jul 26) in front of 25,095 fans at the National Stadium, Spurs defeated Singapore Premier League side Lion City Sailors 5-1, courtesy of a Harry Kane penalty, a hat-trick by Richarlison, and one goal by Giovani Lo Celso. That was the first of three matches of the Singapore Festival of Football Driven by CDG Zig pre-season tournament.
BT Weekend sat down for a chat with Postecoglou at the Pan Pacific Hotel where the team was based, and he talked about his plans for the new EPL season, the type of leader he is, and why he enjoys the Beautiful Game so much.
You’ve said you are different from previous Spurs managers. What do you bring to the table, and what gives you the confidence that you are the man to bring change and success to the club?
Whatever you do in life, you could be a journalist working in the same space but you write your articles in a totally different manner from someone else.
I’m no different. I manage my own way. And there’s no right or wrong in this process. Anyone who knows my history and the way my teams play football will know, wherever I’ve worked at, I bring that difference.
In terms of confidence, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve gained that experience. If you don’t believe in yourself, then others definitely won’t. You’ve got to make sure that people at the club, when they speak to you and they’re in your presence, are able to get that clarity and have that belief. When that happens, people are more likely to follow your lead and take the club through to where we need to be at.
You’ve coached in many countries. What are your thoughts on being in the EPL, which is a global league and naturally brings greater expectations to do well?
It’s still football, and it’s still coaching a team. When you go to one of the biggest clubs in the world, you understand that you’re not just the manager, but you’re also a spokesperson and an ambassador in many ways.
I was brought here to create a team that has success, and those fundamentals don’t change just because it’s a different league with a bigger spotlight. I’m going to do the same thing that I’ve done everywhere else I’ve gone, and that’s to create a team that can win trophies.
What are your targets for the new season and what would represent a good first year?
Having targets is not the way I work. The main thing is to get the team playing a certain a way and see where that takes us, rather than put a limit on our goals and ambitions.
The best measure of how the team is performing will come from the fans. They will let you know if the team is travelling in the right direction. If they are satisfied at the end of the season with the progress and what was achieved, they will be the first to acknowledge that. The fans all want the club to do well, and that’s where my motivations lie.
How would you describe your leadership style? Do you like to get involved in every decision and aspect?
As a manager, you have to be involved in everything, but you also need to have an understanding that there are a lot of other people who are smarter and more experienced than you in their areas of expertise, and that you need to allow them to do their roles.
What I’ve always done is to make sure I get the best people around me in all those areas, and allow them to work in the way they want, to help all of us get the best results.
Of course, the ultimate responsibility lies with me, and because it does, I do want to know what goes on in every area, and make sure the information flow gets through to me.
But within that context, I’m not the one that actually does the practicalities of it. When it comes to things like diet, physical training and all these other aspects that go into the lives of a professional footballer, there are other people who are much better equipped than me to do the job.
You’ve spent most of your life dedicated to football. Do you still have time to enjoy it as a fan?
I’ve got two young children at home who keep me busy, so I know the importance of balancing my football responsibilities with my family time. That said, I love football and I’m really passionate about the sport. I like to go out and watch a game and enjoy it for what it is, instead of always looking at things through the eyes of a manager.
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