No football manager likes to lose. If they do, they’re in the wrong profession, as sports are, famously, a results-oriented profession. Ange Postecoglou certainly doesn’t like to lose, and his Tottenham Hotspur team is currently on a four-match losing streak that has put the focus squarely on results and his methods.
Spurs have had their share of adversity this season, Ange’s first at the club, and it feels like whenever Spurs have hit a certain low threshold we get something from Postecoglou to lift our spirits. In this case, it’s a new video interview of Ange that dropped this morning from Australian outlet Optus Sport, and it has provided Ange an opportunity to really dig into what’s going on at the club in this particular moment.
It’s a long video, and it’s well worth watching it in full because this is Ange at his best — loquacious, honest, motivational, inspirational. In this interview, he doesn’t shy away from the challenges Spurs are going through at them moment — in fact, quite the opposite. It’s clear that Ange relishes the challenges and thinks he’s at his best during the hard times.
Postecoglou has always been clear and open about how he is viewed by the fanbase, and he says it again here — the fans should be allowed to fan. It’s not his role to tell them how to feel or what to think. He wants them along for the ride, and hopes that they’ll understand what he’s trying to do, but all of the emotional swings and roundabouts that come with following a professional football club are valid
Here’s a partial transcript of the interview. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to run through another wall for him.
On the four-match losing streak
“Look, it is hard. Like, as much as you try and kind of focus on, you know, process, that’s where that sort of word comes in. That data becomes really important. Really, it’s the only way out. You can kind of overanalyze things, but the reality is that the human emotions in it are very prevalent. And, you don’t like losing. It affects confidence, it affects belief, it affects mood, all those kind of things.
“So, as a manager, you got to make sure that you don’t compound that by adding to the stresses in the wrong way, you know? And ultimately, my job is to lead us out of that, not to kind of focus on us being in it at the moment. But, to be fair to the lads, like, they’re still very, very positive about the direction we’re heading. And they’re frustrated with, obviously, the last four games. There’ve been different performances in there. It’s not like it’s been a total sort of wipeout for us. There’s been some positive things through that. But ultimately, the best way to get out of it is to put on a performance, get a result.
“But then you go back to process, how do you get a performance? Well, you’ve got to make sure you’re training well, and you’re preparing well, because there’s a danger to get sucked into those four games. When you look at the bigger picture, it’s very different. I think it’s important that you don’t dismiss it because I think feeling the pain of what we’re going through now is important. That’s how you get growth because there’s no point saying, “Oh, boys, we had a great season. Don’t worry, we’ve lost four games.” And I think that’s when you’re breeding the wrong kind of culture within the place. You’ve got to feel the loss. You’ve got to feel the pain of a loss. And four losses is not great in any situation. So, you need to feel the pain of that. But ultimately, it’s still about where we’re heading and where we’ve come from.”
On dealing with adversity
“Well, you get the opportunity to see it, you know? So, because if things are always going well, how do you know? I think it was at the first meeting, I said there will come a point where we hit a real stumbling block this year. We’re going to hit some forks in the road, and we’re going to fall over. And through that time, it’ll reveal how much conviction we have in what we’re doing. I said it will come. It might come at the start, might come at the middle, might come at the end. That’ll be a good opportunity for us, not just for players, but for coaches, for the whole club, for all of us to see, well, how do we deal with this? Knowing we’ve gone off in a different direction now, how much belief, conviction have we in this direction?
“Now, that time is the toughest. So, like I said, you don’t manufacture, but it’s a necessary part of the process. You need to see how people are going to react to difficult times, difficult challenges. So, and it’s not just the players, you know? It’s the coaches, it’s everyone involved with the football club. How’s everyone reacting to four losses? You know, are people’s demeanors different? Are they talking different? Because this will be here again next year, maybe in a different form. Maybe it’ll be, we’re going for a title, the pressure’s there then. The pressure will always be there, it’s how you deal with it.
“So, times like this is great for me. I’m always alert, but I’m hyper-alert now, as to how’s everyone gone through this, you know? So, if anything, is it more challenging for you right now because of the moment you’re going through, and because you’ve got to be even hyper-aware.
“This is, and I’ve said it before, this is a bit I love, mate. Because otherwise, I feel this is my purpose. Like, if I’m not going to be enjoying or being at my best when the times are toughest, then why am I here? That’s my function. So, you don’t manufacture bad times, you don’t try and create this scenario. But when this scenario presents itself, and it always will, it has through my whole career, then that’s when I need to be… not at my best, but certainly at my most alert and at my most visible, if I can put it that way.
“You know me well, I’m very empowering in the people around [me] and give responsibility [to]. I’m not in their faces. In these times, I want to be more visible than anybody else in the club. This has got to be about me now. So, I got to lead the way out. So, like I said, I don’t, it’s not enjoyable when you’re going through it, but part of me loves this part of the process.”
On comparisons to Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta’s starts
“See, people kind of dismissed that. And I remember at the time, as you will, that people weren’t certain on Jurgen, they weren’t certain on Mikel. So, the fact that people are questioning me is no surprise, because we all go through that. I shouldn’t be absolved from that, because that’s just the nature of, you know, the Premier League, people. There’s so much interest, so much scrutiny that they’re not going to give you a pass and say, ‘Well, actually, you’re going well compared to these guys. Now, we’re going to put you on the same heat we put under those guys, under you.’ They did, I remember Mikel was under a lot of heat for a lot of time. I was Jurgen at the beginning, you know that.
“So, I shouldn’t be absolved from that. But you’re right though, in terms of where I think we’re at, I think we’re in a decent space for progress. We’ve created a good foundation in our first year. Am I happy with the way we finished? No, I’m not. But in terms of what we’re trying to build, I firmly believe we’re on the right track.”
On his relationship with the fans
“I mean, the fans want their team to win all the time, you know? Which is only natural. They’re passionate about their football club. And I can’t sit here and say to them, ‘Listen, you’ve got to be patient for five years till I build this thing,’ even though for the most part, that’s what it takes for most of these clubs. I’m not going to say that, and I’m not going to ask them. They’re allowed to be up, and they’re allowed to be down. They’re allowed to be jubilant, they’re allowed to be disappointed.
“I think, for the most part, they’ve appreciated what we’re trying to do in terms of the football we’re trying to play and the way we’ve gone about things. But they obviously want success. And I think it’s the same with the players. I think, for the most part, you know, they’re in. Are they all in at the moment? No. But I wouldn’t expect them to be, because that’s up to me to show them the light, you know, that what we’re doing will get us to where we want to.
“And with all these things, I always come back to one basic premise: it’s up to me to get people there, whether as players, supporters of the club, otherwise. Like, I’m not going to absolve myself of that responsibility. That’s on me to get people to that space.”