The bristling, gruff demeanour said it all. Or did it?
Ange Postecoglou, clearly frustrated at his side’s defeat to Manchester City, sat facing the press after a bitter defeat – and gave it ‘laldy’ in a way that only Big Ange could.
No shouting, no sarcastic insidiousness, rather, a metaphorical shaking of the head and a sense of despair at the state of the nation in the land of Tottenham Hotspur. A tone akin to the sad resignation of a teacher who has put a pupil twice on the naughty step, only to see them acting up again at the back of the class.
Far from shirking from the reality of the defeat and how close his men came to denying Pep Guardiola’s side a mammoth three points, the Aussie powerhouse threw down the gauntlet and laid bare his frustrations with the goings-on – both within and outwith the club.
‘The last 48 hours have revealed the foundations are pretty fragile,’ said the manager.
Ange Postecoglou fumed at this Tottenham players and the club’s fanbase after their defeat by Man City on Tuesday
Erling Haaland bagged a brace to end Spurs’ hopes of securing a Champions League place
‘It just means I’ve got to go back to the drawing board with some things. It’s outside (the club), inside, everywhere. It’s been an interesting exercise.’
While declining to go into details about exactly what he meant by these comments, he appeared to be hinting at problems behind the scenes at Spurs – and within his own fans’ groups.
Not a walloping kind of hint- more a ‘tossing of the caber’; the release of a heavy object that flies slowly into the atmosphere and comes down with a radical ‘thud’.
Welcome to the ‘good ship Ange’ – a manager who tells it like it is and isn’t afraid to set the fires alight when fighting against a necessary evil. We’ve seen it before, and we will surely see it again.
What’s relevant here is the fact he’s willing to air his concerns in public. Is it a sign of doubts arising? Or is it all part of the Ange Postecoglou dynamic – cranking up the crankiness when the pressure begins to invade?
Take a look at his time at Celtic, and it’s clear that a change of demeanour heralded the beginning of the end for the Parkhead manager. From the word go, the Greek-born Aussie was hit with a wall of adversity on his arrival in Scotland. Critics decried Celtic’s sense of ‘ambition’.
Former Scotland striker Alan Brazil asked whether his appointment was a ‘wind- up’ and pundits poured over Postecoglou’s credentials for a role that surely required someone of “more notable” standing.
While the start of his tenure seemed angsty, with three defeats in his first six games in charge, he soon proved the doubters wrong; sealing an incredible run of 31-games unbeaten – and the Scottish League Cup, to boot.
When Rangers stuttered, Big Ange forged ahead – with a Celtic side that seemed unstoppable in their fight for glory. His mantra – ‘We never stop” – could hardly have been more relevant. Rammed into his players from the moment they stepped onto the pitch until the moment he left the club, it symbolised perfectly, his unnerving drive for success.
It wasn’t just his attacking style of play, or the raft of new talent he’d accrued from Japan – it was a winning mentality that glistened in the air around Celtic Park and which seemed to only grow and intensify as the days wore on.
For a time, it felt like the Celtic boss could do no wrong. Affable, dry and amusing when he wanted to be, he charmed reporters and fans alike. He once famously said he was more interested in what he was having for dinner than the arrival of new Rangers boss, Michael Beale.
Postecoglou turned Celtic into an unstoppable forced during his two-spell in the Scottish Premiership
The Australian claimed five of the six domestic trophies on offer during his time at the club
That was just how it was – laid-back, focused on the job and unrepentant. Once, when asked about the boost to Celtic’s finances after reaching the Champions League, he responded: “ I’m not an accountant, mate, I’m a football manager.’
He took reporters to task for questions he deemed to be ridiculous – but in a manner that still left room for light-hearted banter.
‘I haven’t come from outer space,’ he reminded one reporter, after being asked what he knew about Hearts before his first league match in charge.
If the tables turned, they did so in a more subtle fashion. Pointed barbs became more prevalent as his second season wore on. The normally calm manager began to manifest his irk at VAR, refereeing decisions, and talk about Rangers.
VAR, in particular, became a significant bugbear. He questioned the SFA chief executive (Ian Maxwell)’s assertion that there would be ‘teething problems’ with the new technology, when the system had already been up and running in Australia for several years.
He had a go at a UEFA interpreter for interrupting a press conference after a Champions League match against Shakhtar. He accused referees of being scared to make decisions – having a pop at games being ‘re-refereed’.
As the cracks began to show, there was a sense that Postecoglou had perhaps ‘outgrown’ his role in the Scottish Premiership. Rumours abounded about a move to England, and it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the fortunes of the Premier League came calling.
Which brings us back to where we are now. What does this all mean for Postecoglou? And what does it mean for the club he currently manages?
Since his arrival, he has not hidden his desire to win trophies. He spoke about it early on. That, he stated, was his ‘intent’ when joining the London club.
He achieved it at Celtic and at pretty much every other club he has been involved in. Not to at least aim for it again would be anathema to the Australian coach.
‘I love winning,’ Postecoglou remarked on his arrival at Spurs. ‘That’s what drives me. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole career.’
It’s clear that Postecoglou wants to create the best, most ambitious club he can with the resources he has at hand. While that may be music to the ears of the vast majority of supports, some will still see it as a fanciful notion – a cabinet full of silverware has not exactly been plentiful over the last few years.
What he needs now, surely, is some ambition from the top – a nod, perhaps, that his ambitions align fully with those making decisions at board level. The thing about Postecoglou is that losing is not in his DNA.
Despite missing out on the Champions League, Postecoglou’s debut campaign has been a success
He has lifted the team from an 8th place finish to a respectable 5th – with European football guaranteed
Neither is a lack of commitment. His appointment at Spurs was seen as pretty radical – a move that in a sense, had an element of risk. Here was a man who had never managed in the Premier league previously, who had done wonders at Celtic, sure, but who arguably knew very little about the ins and outs of the English game at top-flight level.
It’s fair to say that despite a few bumps in the road, Postecoglou’s first season in charge has been a success. Sure, there have been moments where he may not have got things right – but name a manager who is 100 per cent correct, 100 per cent of the time. He has lifted the team from an 8th place finish to a respectable 5th – with European football guaranteed.
How he now goes on to manages his current frustrations will likely be the making of the man. As for those ‘fragile’ foundations? Well, they’re central to the whole equation.
To make them stronger, he needs everyone on board – working as one, and with a ‘whole club’, winning mentality. Finding consensus in THAT, might end up to be Postecoglou’s biggest challenge.
