Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy defends sacking Ange Postecoglou despite backlash

Ange Postecoglou will always be welcome at Tottenham but his Europa League triumph and subsequent Champions League qualification wasn’t enough according to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, has defended the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou by saying the club always need to push hard in all competitions.

Speaking publicly for the first time since Postecoglou’s departure, Levy admitted “emotionally it was difficult” to part with the Australian head coach, after Spurs claimed their first trophy in 17 years by winning the Europa League in Bilbao. However, they also finished 17th in the Premier League.

“I’m very grateful to Ange. I don’t regret appointing Ange,” said Levy, who was speaking in an official club video, alongside Tottenham’s new chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham. “In his first season we finished fifth. In our second season we were over the moon to win a trophy. But we need to compete in all competitions and we felt that we needed a change.

Daniel Levy is grateful for Ange Postecoglou’s time at Spurs. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“I’ve got an excellent relationship with him [Postecoglou]. I told him, ‘You’re always going to be part of our history.’ Himself and his family are always welcome back. It was a collective decision, it wasn’t my decision, we do everything together. Emotionally it was difficult but we believe we made the right decision for the club.”

Levy hailed Thomas Frank, who has replaced Postecoglou, as “highly intelligent” and a “super human being”.

Levy said: “Whenever you have a new coach it’s always a fresh start, but we want to build on the success of winning a trophy last season.”

Venkatesham said that, when looking for Postecoglou’s replacement, the club “defined ten characteristics” they felt were “important to be a successful manager” at Tottenham and analysed more than 30 candidates for the job.

“We ran a really, really thorough process at speed,” he said. “We had a shortlist. We spent a lot of time with the shortlist and Thomas was absolutely the No 1 candidate. And we could not be more excited to have him join the club.”

Thomas Frank is the new Spurs manager. Picture: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

Venkatesham said that Frank’s record with young players stood out, with the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Mathys Tel, whom Tottenham have signed permanently from Bayern Munich in a deal worth pounds 30 million, all now hoping to impress their new coach.

Levy was heavily criticised by Tottenham supporters this season, some of whom called for him to resign, as the team dropped towards the Premier League’s relegation zone. He has been at the helm at Spurs for 24 years but has regularly faced accusations of prioritising the club’s finances over winning trophies.

“[Given] the pressure and the disappointment of not winning over a number of years, I just wanted it so desperately,” he said of the final on May 21. “We deserved some luck.

Tottenham’s revamp under Frank could include the sale of their captain, Son Heung-min, but the forward is highly unlikely to leave before the club’s lucrative pre-season tour to his native South Korea in August. Spurs are commercially contracted to play Son in a friendly against Newcastle United at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on August 3.

Son, 32, has one year left on his contract and has been the subject of renewed interest from the Saudi Pro League as well as being linked with Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho, under whom Son played at Spurs.

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