Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham Hotspur to scare every opponent they come up against and has explained why he calls everyone ‘mate’. The Australian began his Premier League era with the 2-2 draw at Brentford on Sunday and has brought sweeping changes behind the scenes at the north London outfit. There have also been major changes to Postecoglou’s playing squad with the departure of record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich along with the arrival of six new players to N17, including England international James Maddison. In an interview with the Men in Blazers podcast, Postecoglou said he is loving his early weeks at Tottenham but admitted there were too many new names to learn.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I love this bit. I love the new challenge. I love walking into a place and it’s something probably unique to me that I don’t take a group of staff with me so I literally walk in by myself into these massive football clubs. I love the energy that brings to me. I have to make sure that all my senses are super alert to listen and hear everything that goes on and to see everything that I need to see to make the decisions I need to make and then to get people to believe in me. So you engage with as many people as possible and it was no different here. Obviously, the magnitude of this football club is bigger than any other I’ve had before so there are more people and saying ‘mate’ gets me around a lot of things because learning the names is almost impossible. Again it’s about trying to create as many connections as I can. I love it. It’s so different here. There’s some fantastic footballers here, great staff, the training ground and the stadium are just world class. There’s no place on earth I would rather be than right here in this minute trying to bring success to one of the biggest football clubs in the world.”
For Postecoglou these early weeks are about getting everyone on board that needs to be and that comes through his communication skills.
Ange Postecoglou said: “The core component is they have to believe in me. Like anything in life you can have all the knowledge in the world and all the greatest intent in the world but if people don’t believe in you as a person they’re unlikely to jump on board whatever journey you want to take them on. I think the one thing that has been consistent with me is that in the early days when people are not sceptical but questioning the methodology I have and the football I play, there is real clarity in that they understand I’m not going to change. This is who I am, this is what I believe in. We’re going to hit some rocky times, there will be plenty of questions thrown at us but we’re not going to change. I think once people see that I don’t just want them to play this football because it’s something that is a fad or a trend, it’s because of what I believe, then there’s a security there that allows them then to say ‘we’re all in on this’. That’s a key part of everything I do at the beginning. It’s not just the players, it’s the staff and everyone I work with at the football club, even the supporters. They gather some sort of belief in me as a person.”
So will the 57-year-old tweak his ideas for the Premier League or will he stick to his guns? The answer he says is a natural evolution of the Postecoglou way.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I think a lot of that will happen organically. I’ll find out along the way if I have to tweak things. The beginnings are always the same. It’s about playing a certain way, having certain values and the way we approach things, training a certain way which is different to what a lot of the players here have been used to. All those kind of things are the major pillars at the moment. Any adjustments I’ve made in my career in all the leagues I’ve been to it’s happened organically, I’ve allowed it to grow itself and if we find any impediments along the way we’ll make adjustments but I’m not going into it with any preconceived ideas about what we need to change. What won’t change are the basic underlying principles that I want my team to play football that scares the life out of every opposition. That’s the end game.”
Postecoglou has a simple message for the Tottenham fans who need to prepare for what usually comes in the rollercoaster early stages of his reigns.
Ange Postecoglou said: “Buckle up. It’s not going to be smooth. It never is in my first years. That’s not to say you can’t be successful but there will be some turbulence there. I’ve said already that the fans are going to be my biggest barometer as to how we’re going. Fans are usually the best judges because they’re the most invested. Experts and people from the outside can have opinions but the ones around it the most are the ones you know are going to be there long after I’m gone and have been here long before I came. They’ll let me know how I’m going and hopefully they’ll see a team that gives them belief and hope, a team that resonates with what they want to see in their football sides and that’s what I’m going to try to bring, along with that some success. What that looks like, tangible-wise, we’ll see.”
