Ange Postecoglou Wants To Stay At Tottenham

It has been widely reported Ange Postecoglou was likely to be sacked by Spurs regardless of the result in the Europa final. There were even suggestions the Australian could walk away from the club, with some pointing to cryptic clues made by the manager recently.

It has been widely reported Ange Postecoglou was likely to be sacked by Spurs regardless of the result

However Postecoglou put his intent beyond doubt after securing the biggest managerial triumph of his career.

“I do (want to stay),” Postecoglou told broadcast TNT SPORTS post-match. I don’t feel like I’ve completed a job here, we’re still building.

“… the moment I accepted the role I had one thing in my head, and that was to win something. More than anything else. We’ve done that now and I want to build on it.”

Victory in Thursday’s final also booked Tottenham a ticket to next season’s Champions League.

But a philosophical Postecoglou recognises it’s a campaign he may never get to oversee.

“Whatever happens happens. I said we’re still building this team, it’s still very young, we need to add experience to it. We’re in the Champions League,” he said. “My thought process and what I was trying to do this year is to build a team that can be successful for four, five, six years.

“But I’m the manager. The decision is not in my hands. It doesn’t affect me though. If it was going to affect me, you would’ve seen it in the build up to here. All I cared about was having this thing around my neck because if I did, it meant this club had a trophy.”

There were no “planned meetings” with Spurs chair Daniel Levy

Postecoglou revealed in the press conference that followed that there were no “planned meetings” with Spurs chair Daniel Levy set for the coming days.

Instead, the Australian said he will be going on holiday and then will accept whatever comes next.

“No planned meetings. No discussions. I haven’t spoken to anyone about anything,” he said.

“Look what I do know is I’m going back to my hotel room, I’m going to gather my family and friends, open a nice bottle of scotch, then get ready for a massive parade on Friday. Then the last game against Brighton and we want to finish strong. 

“Then Monday I’m going on holiday with my beautiful family because I deserve it. 

“Que sera, sera.”

In leading the club to European glory, Postecoglou made good on a bold proclamation made in September that “I always win things in my second season”.

The comment has been referenced throughout Spurs’ struggles this season and the Australian has now explained his mindset in making the statement. Let me clarify, I wasn’t boasting,” he said

“I just had something inside me: we needed to win”.

“People have taken shots at the club, and I have felt at times we haven’t defended ourselves as strongly as we should”.

He spoke further on the matter in his press conference, saying he had been “misinterpreted” while doubling down on the fact that he wasn’t “boasting”.

“(It was) just me making a declaration and I believed it. I had this thing inside me more than anything else,” he said.

“I know our league form has been unacceptable, but coming third was not going to change this football club, winning a trophy would, that was my ambition and I was prepared to wear it if it did not happen. People kept reminding me of it because we were getting closer but I’m happy with that.

“I made the decision after the transfer window this was the trophy to go for … Everything I’ve done, from training to decisions, was to be for the best possible chance in Europe.

“That’s come at a cost… I just felt the end game was more important.”

Postecoglou believes now, whether he gets to continue in the job or not, Spurs may be able to thrive with the monkey of their backs.

“I know what it means for this football club. Unfortunately the longer it goes on it’s harder to break the cycle sometimes, he said.

“I could sense the nervousness in everyone at the club because they had been in this situation before and, until you take the monkey off the back, you don’t understand what it feels like.

We have a really young group and I hope them tasting this success … feeds into itself, and they feel differently about themselves.

“And mainly the supporters. Some here have probably been following us for the 41 years or the 17 (since last trophies). Just what it means to them is incredible.”