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Ange Postecoglou Tottenham: Former Socceroos manager named new English Premier League club boss

Former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou has been named manager of Tottenham Hotspur in a landmark announcement for Australian football.

Ange Postecoglou.
Ange Postecoglou.

Ange Postecoglou has been confirmed as Tottenham’s new manager on a four-year deal.

The former Socceroos boss arrives in the Premier League after leading Scottish club Celtic to a historic treble.

Postecoglou will start his new job on July 1.

“Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play,” Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said.

“He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy — everything that is important to our club.

We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead.”

In a statement released by Celtic, Postecoglou said: “I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the Club for everything they have given me. In particular, Dermot, Peter and Michael and the Celtic Board have shown me tremendous support in every aspect of my time at Celtic and I will forever be grateful for this.

“They brought me to the Club and I have worked so closely and so well with them for the past two years, I will always have a special relationship with them.

Ange Postecoglou’s last match in charge of Celtic netted the Scottish Cup.
Ange Postecoglou’s last match in charge of Celtic netted the Scottish Cup.

“They wanted me to extend my time at Celtic and while I am so respectful and understanding of their position, a new opportunity has been presented to me and it is one which I wanted to explore.

“It was an honour to be asked to be Celtic manager and during my two years I have given everything I have to deliver success to our supporters. Culminating in the treble at the weekend, my players and backroom team have been brilliant for me on this journey.

“They have given us all some fantastic moments through their energy and effort, creating real quality, winning football.

“Our supporters have been magnificent to me and I thank them for the way they have embraced me during the past two years. My ambition was always to give our fans a team they could be proud of, a team people talked about and I think we have achieved that.

Postecoglou will become the first Australian to manage in the Premier League.
Postecoglou will become the first Australian to manage in the Premier League.

“Celtic is a phenomenal football club, and so much more - and I will forever be a supporter of this great institution. I wish everyone connected with Celtic nothing but continued success.”

Celtic chief executive, Michael Nicholson: “It has been a pleasure working with Ange, a great football manager and a good man. He has served the Club with such energy and determination and delivered a phenomenal level of success.

“I would like to thank him for all he has given us and I wish Ange and his family the very best for the future in everything they do.

“Of course, we wanted Ange to stay with us at Celtic and while there is real disappointment that we are losing him, he has decided he wants to look at a new challenge, which we respect.

“As Treble-winning champions, the Club looks ahead with confidence to the future, with many exciting opportunities ahead. The Club appreciates the tremendous support from Celtic fans this season and we will continue to build from this position of unity and strength.”

Postecoglou is the first Australian to manage in the Premier League.

ARNOLD TIPS ANGE TO TAKE EPL BY STORM

Marco Monteverde

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has tipped football “obsessed” Ange Postecoglou to again “prove the doubters wrong” by achieving success with English Premier League club Tottenham.

After winning five trophies in just two seasons with Scottish giant, Celtic, Postecoglou was last night confirmed as the Spurs’ new coach on a four-year deal.

Not for the first time in his successful career, Postecoglou is facing some fan backlash at a new club, with some Spurs supporters criticising his appointment despite his achievements in club football in Scotland, Japan and Australia, as well as his effort to guide the Socceroos to Asian Cup glory in 2015.

Arnold, who lost an A-League grand final to Postecoglou in 2011 when Brisbane Roar prevailed in a penalty shootout over the Central Coast Mariners, said Tottenham would be a “great job” for the departing Hoops manager.

“I think he’ll kill it (in the Premier League),” Arnold said on Tuesday.

“He is just totally obsessed with the game. It is his life.

Ange Postecoglou and Graham Arnold during their A-League coaching days.
Ange Postecoglou and Graham Arnold during their A-League coaching days.

“(I) always knew that he had that mentality of where he wanted to go – that was to the top.

“He had a few setbacks but that is coaching. You learn from those types of setbacks and Ange has always been someone that has always (been) so determined to prove the doubters wrong.

“That, in a lot ways, is his motivation. I’m just so happy for him.”

Arnold said working in a salary-cap restricted with the Roar and Melbourne Victory had made Postecoglou a better coach.

“We’ve got a hard way for coaching in Australia,” he said.

“One of Ange’s hugest strengths is recruitment and his attention to detail in the players that he gets for his way, the system and the way he wants to play.

“Because we’re coaching with a salary-capped system, we’ve had to do a lot more work, a lot harder work and focus on the tactical side more than ever.

“A lot of managers are managers, they’re not coaches as well. Ange has the dual role of being a coach as well as a manager.

“On the tactical side of things, he’s not relying on other people to tell him what to do because he’s got that nous. On the managerial side, he knows man management, he knows how to get the best out of people and motivate people.

“Sometimes a lot of managers leave the coaching to someone else to do and they’re playing the way of that other coach.

“With Ange, it is his way. It is fantastic.”

Originally published as Ange Postecoglou Tottenham: Former Socceroos manager named new English Premier League club boss

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Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/sport/football/ange-postecoglou-tottenham-links-exsocceroos-manager-linked-with-english-premier-league-job/news-story/32c52783cde6e21ac1c72368210db49f