New Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says he has already spoken to Son Heung-min and when talking to supporters has discussed the way he has to get the club playing next season. The Australian began his first pre-season at Spurs on Saturday following his move from Celtic and the 57-year-old has answered a series of questions from supporters’ clubs around the world. football.london reported this week that Postecoglou has made a big impression within the Hotspur Way training complex with players and staff alike in recent days.
Ange Postecoglou said: “Firstly I also have a relationship with Sonny because he scored against me for Korea in the Asian Cup final. We were one minute away from winning it and Sonny scored. We got him in extra-time and I’ve already said to him that he’s forgiven for that. With Ferenc, if you ran a poll and said the 20 greatest footballers of all time he would be on every list, because the way he played the game and even his own story was an incredible one. To share that sort of experience with him for those two or three years was brilliant and he would love the fact that the Puskas Award is for the best goal. He loved goals. He loved his team playing attacking football. I was a full-back and he just kept telling me to get the ball and give it to the players who everyone wanted to see, which I was happy to do. The fact that the Goal of the Year is named after him is just so apt.”
Postecoglou was also asked what he has introduced to all of his clubs that has brought success over the years and he gave an insight into what can be expected of his Tottenham team.
Ange Postecoglou added: “I think the major thing about my journey in football career as a manager is that really early on I had this part of me that just decided that my teams were going to play a certain way, irrespective of the league I was in, the challenge I had before me in terms of whatever club I was picking up and whatever state they were in, I needed my teams to play in a certain way for me to really feel like it was my team. I’ve been non-negotiable in that the whole way and made this decision really early on in my career that this is the kind of manager I’m going to be and this is how my teams are going to play. Along the way when I’ve had times when it could have gone either way, me sticking to my core beliefs and values have allowed me to get through those moments and have success. It’s not just about regret [if you don’t]. It’s that people will then believe in you more because they see that you’re not doing it for any other reason than that is what you confirm in your mind and what you know will get you to where you want to go. People will see that that never wavers even in the most extreme of pressure. People will know you’re saying what you really believe, not just saying it because you saw somebody else do it or somebody else told you to do it. It’s an extension of who you are and to me my teams and how they play are an extension of me as a person. People are never in any doubt whether they’re around me or working with me that this is not going to change. It’s how we’re going to be.”
Another question put to the new Spurs boss was who his idols have been in life.
Ange Postecoglou said: “It’s a difficult one because obviously my focus was football but I loved all sports and you crave any sorts of people like I remember as a young kid running home and seeing Muhammed Ali fight and then as I got older I look at guys from others sports like Greg Norman. You follow Aussies so Pat Cash winning Wimbledon so being Australian, well growing up in Australia anyway, you loved all sports. Football was a big focus and I’ve said it before but my biggest idol was my old man. My father was the one who gave me my passion for football. Football was probably the hardest sport to get access to but in terms of the other sports, it was so rich and there was so much and so inspiring to see Australians dominate on a world stage in whatever code. We followed Aussie footballers coming over here, like Harry Kewell or Mark Viduka. Them having an impact in the Premier League was pretty inspiring.”
