Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou will continue to go about things his way as the club’s preparations for the upcoming Premier League season ramp up in Perth.
The recently appointed head coach spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday night’s game against West Ham United at Optus Stadium when more than 50,000 spectators are expected to attend.
Not everyone was convinced by the board’s decision to put their future in the hands of a man with no prior experience in one of Europe’s top leagues, but the former Australia national team boss is ready for the challenge.
“Nothing has really changed in the way I do things,” he said. “What I do and try to envisage is the team playing a certain way, that’s what drives me. I want the team to play football that is exciting for the fans and ultimately brings success.
“All these kind of things are step-by-step processes for me, I’m fairly narrow-minded in just focusing on the present and making sure we’re doing the best we can.
“I keep saying to the players – every day is an opportunity for us to improve, me included. Every training session is an opportunity for us to get a little better with the final goal in mind – to produce a team that hopefully plays the football that brings us success.”
Postecoglou faced similar scepticism when he joined Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic in 2021 but his style of play, which led to a treble last season, quickly won people over.
“My major barometer will be our fans,” he said. “If our fans are happy at the end of the year, we’ll have done a good job.”
There has been much speculation about the future of England captain Harry Kane, with links to Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain making headlines in recent days, but Postecoglou refused to be drawn into any specifics on the situation, other than confirming that the two had spoken.
“It’s not a specific vision for one person, it’s about the group,” he said.
“I think me and Harry are perfectly aligned in that – we want to see a successful team this year – so for me it’s about focusing on everybody and making sure that we set the environment in the right way and in terms of the players, they’ve been brilliant so far, receptive and open minded about what we’re trying to do.”
While Kane has been a fundamental member of the Tottenham squad for a long time, Postecoglou reinforced that it is about the collective and he wouldn’t be waiting around for individuals before
“I’ve got a certain amount of time to get this team right for the start of the season,” he said.
“I’m not going to wait until things become certain about anything to start that process, we needed to start that straightaway and that’s what we’ve done, and that’s what we’ll keep doing.
“It doesn’t mean that every time I come to a press conference, I won’t have to answer questions about it but in between, certainly no focus on it.”
One big name who has been left in London is former captain Hugo Lloris, with Postecoglou confirming that he is exploring his options for a move elsewhere.
The club have brought in James Maddison, Manor Solomon, and Guglielmo Vicario as new signings this offseason, while Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro joined permanently.
“I have access to some fantastic footballers here at the club that I can work with and try to develop,” he said.
“We can bring in some quality players but so can every other Premier League club so from that perspective, it’s just about trying to do what I do in the best manner possible to make us competitive.
“In terms of the kind of players we bring it, for me it’s still a big thing about the kind of people they are because the world is full of fantastic footballers. It’s about whether they fit into the kind of game I want to play and fit into the environment I want to create.”
Star attacker Son Heung-min joined Postecoglou at the press conference, and the two have history dating back to the 2015 Asian Cup Final when Son’s Korea were beaten by the Socceroos after extra time.
Having battled injury towards the end of last season, the 31-year-old is fit and ready to impress Postecoglou.
“I am really looking forward to it and as soon as they announced the manager I was really, really happy about it because we follow the Scottish league and Celtic was dominating the league,” he said.
“I am looking forward to helping the team, helping the group, helping the club also. It is amazing attacking football; I hope we can make special things together.
There was a poignant end to proceedings as Postecoglou spoke about the sacrifices his parents made during his childhood and the influence of his father career wise.
“I had a really happy childhood, but I know that they were working hard to make sure I didn’t realise just how tough it was for us as a family,” he said.
“I’ve said before that he has been the greatest influence in my life. He still is, he’s not around anymore, but he was also a hard man. Hard to please. He’d pat me on the back but then give me a smack on the head as well just to make sure I stay focused on what’s important.”
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