EPL 2023: Ange Postecoglou press conference, Tottenham vs Manchester United highlights, score, Tottenham fans singing, celebrations
Ange #Ange
Ange Postecoglou told reporters earlier this week that he was not comfortable with Tottenham fans singing his name. Why?
Well, the Australian’s explanation spoke to why the Spurs faithful had been so quick to embrace him in the first place.
“It means a lot but I’m not comfortable with it. You love what it means,” opened Postecoglou.
“For the most part, it’s blind faith. I haven’t earned it yet. Hopefully, when the day comes that we deliver something it will mean even more.”
For a fanbase that has had to wait more than 15 years for a major trophy, that kind of accountability was refreshing.
This coming from a coach that is very confident in the way he wants to play and yet still maintains a sense of humility, not one to get swept away or lost in the bright lights.
A man who has earned everything that has come his way so far in his coaching career — and that is not going to change anytime soon.
So, when Postecoglou celebrated his first Premier League win in charge on Sunday he took a moment to soak it all in. A moment he and the rest of the team had earned.
“You want to feel that moment,” Postecoglou told reporters after the 2-0 win over Manchester United.
“Because I have always said that to me I love what football does to people, particularly in those moments. You kind of take a moment to think about the 60,000 here or the ones who were watching at home, they’re going to be smiling for the rest of the week.
“I love that it does that, the game. For me that moment is just about appreciating I am pretty blessed to be doing what I am doing and be in the middle of a stadium leading a fantastic football club.”
But, again, Postecoglou is not the kind of manager to get swept away or lost in the bright lights. And so, the Australian had one quick reminder to add before he was done.
“And then you start to think about next week, mate,” he said with a smile.
Tottenham fans aren’t thinking about next week though. They’re thinking about right now. They’re thinking about the berth of a new brand of football, one that dares to be different under a manager that does the exact same.
Ange sends stern message to Spurs | 00:48
“The atmosphere was incredible,” Postecoglou said.
“Our supporters were outstanding today. The energy they created in the stadium right from the first whistle was just brilliant. To be honest I thought it helped us.
“In the first half I thought we just looked a bit nervous and edgy for sort of half an hour or so and were probably fortunate to still be in the game.”
Again, another example of Postecoglou refusing to get carried away, even as Tottenham fans continued to chant his name.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the win, Postecoglou said building off the team’s success in the second half would be key moving forward as Bournemouth await next Saturday night.
“We’ve still got a long way to go and today we saw elements of how far we still have to go,” Postecoglou said.
“If we can keep feeding the players the belief they have in the second half then we can create something special.”
Tottenham has already created something special if the way its fanbase was celebrating after the 2-0 win is anything to go by.
Although the challenge, according to Postecoglou, is to now replicate the same kind of performance on a more consistent basis.
“It’s nice,” Postecoglou said of fans singing his name.
“You separate yourself from that stuff because what’s more important to me right now is that if we’re going to continue to go down this road, I said before the game that we really need an energy, particularly here at home.
“It would have been a shame today, because you could tell the crowd were up for it, if we were flat in our performance.
“Obviously you want to win and that gives everyone the joy they need but I felt the manner in which we played, it’s a great starting point so when the final whistle goes… from my perspective that’s fantastic fertile ground for me to get going, rather than sort of if we had a flat performance it would have been hard, we would have had to work hard.
“But at the same time now that leaves a fairly decent benchmark that we’ve got to match now because that’s the expectation we go out there because we did it against a very good team so we have to do it on a weekly basis.”
Tottenham fans are embracing Postecoglou. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said to Stats Perform back in June that Australian football is “in a golden era right now” after Postecoglou’s hiring.
When considering Postecoglou’s appointment alongside the historic success of the Matildas at this year’s Women’s World Cup, it is easy to see why that may well be the case.
Although when asked by a reporter on Sunday whether his success at Tottenham may help football really break new ground in Australia, Postecoglou was hesitant.
“I battle with that, mate. I really don’t know if we will ever crack Australia,” he said.
“I hope so. I think the women’s World Cup was a brilliant tournament. I am not watching anymore of it… the Premier League has always been the most watched league in Australia anyway and now they have a vested interest, so that’s great.
“How much of an impact that has I am not really sure.. I don’t know if there are too many with similar backgrounds to mine but I’ve worked 26 years in the game and it is not that I feel I have earnt this opportunity, it is just I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be given this opportunity.”