Ange Postecoglou holds his first press conference as manager of Tottenham Hotspur
In his first press conference as the new Tottenham coach, Ange Postecoglou has urged players not to resist change and outlined his aims in his first Premier League job.
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Ange Postecoglou has admitted he faces a big challenge in turning Tottenham Hotspur’s fortunes around and has urged players not to resist change as it “only derails the process.”
The new Australian club coach has admitted he will rebuild the team and do things “my way” to achieve big success – just like he did in the east end of Glasgow with Celtic.
He makes the move south after securing the Celtic’s eighth Treble, with his own trophy tally remarkable in Scotland.
But it was out of the frying pan and into another as he was taken aback by how quickly he was asked to address Harry Kane’s future at Spurs.
Asked about how he felt managing the Premier League club, Postecoglou, whose roots are in Melbourne, said: “I’m different to the other managers and I’ll do things my way.
“The more people buy into that the more we will get there quicker because when there is resistance it just slows down the whole process but what I will make clear is that it won’t change the process,” he said.
“It won’t change it, it might just derail it for a little bit. The quicker we jump on the train the quicker we will get there but I want to allow people to be themselves.”
The 54-year old said he wants player Harry Kane to stay at the club, but admitted he has not received “any assurances” about the player’s future amid reports of interest from Bayern Munich in the England captain.
Postecoglou revealed it was not his dream to coach in the Premier League.
“If you have a bucket list as a manager of football clubs you want to manage, this (Tottenham) is probably one of them,” he told his first Tottenham press conference at the club’s training centre in Enfield, North London on Monday.
“The supporters are not really supporters, the club is an extension of them, it’s a family.
“We had a brilliant two years, great group of players, great staff. We had some fantastic success and great moments within that. I will cherish them, but I am the kind of guy who loves a challenge. I love a build, I love a rebuild.
“That is where I feel I am at my best.
“I need to get going again. I know Celtic have appointed Brendan Rodgers, who is an outstanding manager and they will continue to have success.
“Now my goal is to try and make some special moments here and create something special for this great football club as well.”
Postecoglou was quick to stress his new role is not a step up – but a new challenge and his experiences growing up in Australia and his father’s dream for him to succeed would stand him in good stead for a career in the Premier League.
“I can’t say it was a goal. I’ve come literally from the other side of the world so I’ve just wanted to experience what I can in my career and see where that takes me,” he said.
“Every challenge I’ve had I’ve enjoyed and embraced, whether that’s in different countries, different leagues, national teams or club football but the Premier League is the strongest competition.”
“It’s another opportunity to do what I do in a different competition, with different fundamentals around it and experience something else in my career,” he added.
Asked how big a step it is for him to jump to the Premier League, he said the challenge is no different to the Scottish Premier League.
“I’ve never seen it as a step up, it’s just a new challenge for me,” he said.
“I’ve never gone into any job thinking this is going to be easy compared to anything else I’ve done. It’ll be a massive challenge, absolutely. But Celtic was a massive challenge,” he said.
“It’s not just about winning, it’s the manner of how you do it,” he added.
He said his late father, who emigrated from Greece to Australia when he was a child, would have been proud of his successful coaching career.
“He would be overwhelmingly proud,” he said.
“I’ve spoken about my dad a lot and it’s only as you get older than you kind of realise the impact your upbringing has on you.
“You become a parent yourself and certain things rattle around in your head that as a child you kind of dismiss, but he had a dream for his son and I think in his mind, provided I did what he said, I was going to reach that.
“Sometimes I wasn’t really happy about that, I wanted to do it my own way and I’ve charted my own path in many ways.
“It’s not (just) my dad. It’s my mum, my family and all the people who have made sacrifices, not just for me.
“Anyone who reaches a certain level in their profession knows they’ve done it off the back of as much off others’ sacrifices as your own sacrifices.
“You want them to take pride in the fact that you wouldn’t be sitting here today without their support and in my parents’ case, the sacrifices they made.”
Originally published as Ange Postecoglou holds his first press conference as manager of Tottenham Hotspur
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