How Ange Postecoglou can survive at Spurs

As Daniel Levy stared into the middle distance during a defeat to Chelsea that placed greater scrutiny on Ange Postecoglou, some familiar themes might have been running through the mind of the Tottenham Hotspur chairman.

It is understood Tottenham and Levy are not planning to make any knee-jerk reactions to the team’s disappointing run of results regarding the future of Postecoglou.

The club’s head coach retains internal support and backing at Spurs, although the run of four games – against Rangers, Southampton, Manchester United and Liverpool – before Christmas could still prove pivotal to Postecoglou’s chances of holding on to his job.

With Postecoglou under pressure, Levy is expected to look at five key areas in particular to help determine whether or not he continues to back the Australian or starts to consider making yet another change.

Having spoken to some of those with experience of what Levy looks at and listens to – aside from results and performances – when the going gets tough for his managers, here is how Postecoglou’s fate might be decided.

Keeping the fans onside.Credit: Getty

Fan fury

Postecoglou has already faced up to some angry fans over recent weeks, most notably after the defeat to Bournemouth. But it is actually any fan fury towards Levy himself that might prove more damaging for Tottenham’s head coach. Sources claim that Levy becomes most agitated when the team’s poor form puts him in the spotlight, as it did under Postecoglou’s predecessors José Mourinho, Nuno Espírito Santo and Antonio Conte.

It will have helped Postecoglou – at least for now – that the atmosphere did not turn toxic during the home defeat by Chelsea. The Tottenham supporters sang Postecoglou’s name ahead of kick-off and there were no ‘Levy out’ chants as things turned sour for the home team. Levy claims to have a thick skin and that he can ignore external criticism, but history suggests that when the fans turn on him, his trigger finger becomes twitchy.

The dressing room

Levy has backed his players over a succession of previous managers and it appears he takes their opinion seriously. Those who watched the Amazon documentary will remember Danny Rose threatening Mourinho that he would go to see the chairman when he was unhappy with his playing time. Levy even preferred to sack Mauricio Pochettino, who had taken Spurs to the final of the Champions League, rather than overhauling the playing squad as the Argentine had suggested.

Complaints over the management styles of Mourinho and Conte were taken seriously, while Levy was quick to recognise that the club’s players felt Nuno was out of his depth at Spurs. Levy’s brother-in-law Allan Dixon, who has held the titles of player liaison officer and team manager, has been a constant and popular presence around the dressing room over recent years. Cristian Romero came out in support of Postecoglou after the Chelsea defeat and it will be vital the majority of players stay behind him.

Europe

Tottenham travel to Rangers in the Europa League on Friday morning (AEDT) and European football could yet prove to be a salvation for Postecoglou. Spurs remain the favourites with many bookies to win this season’s competition and the carrot of a European trophy will be a tantalising proposition for Levy, particularly as it would also secure qualification to next season’s Champions League.

Levy believes Spurs should be competing in Europe every season, so if the Europa League campaign goes off course or qualification through the league starts to look unrealistic then Postecoglou may have something to seriously worry about. Despite slipping into the bottom half of the Premier League table, Spurs are still only five points from fifth spot which could be enough to qualify for the Champions League this season. Postecoglou’s men will move into the top eight of the Europa League table, which would guarantee a path straight to the last-16, if they beat Rangers this week.

Ange Postecoglou reacts during the loss against Chelsea.Credit: Getty Images

The party line

It seems inconceivable that somebody with Postecoglou’s strength of personality could be persuaded to toe a party line and it’s highly unlikely that anybody at Spurs will try to tell the Australian what he should and shouldn’t say. But if Postecoglou wants to stay in Levy’s good books, then he definitely should steer clear of directing any public criticism the way of his chairman. That might sound obvious, but Pochettino, Mourinho and Conte – subtly and not-so-subtly – were not scared to shine a torch towards Levy in times of difficulty and it did not work in their favour.

Postecoglou passed up what might have been considered a tap-in ahead of the Chelsea game by insisting that he remained fully supportive of the off-season transfer business, while also reiterating that he would take sole responsibility for results. That will have been music to Levy’s ears and the longer Postecoglou avoids getting drawn into any public criticism of his boss, the better for his employment prospects.

Levy’s five wise men

It is said that Levy usually takes counsel from up to five trusted confidants at times of difficulty, even though the final decision usually rests solely with him. Some of those will be inside the club and Levy has the likes of technical director Johan Lange and chief football officer Scott Munn to lean on and hold discussions with.

There are also said to be outside voices Levy listens to, and while their exact identities have not been disclosed it is known that he has remained close to Fabio Paritici, who still attends Tottenham matches and has offered advice on transfers since leaving his position of managing director of football. Leon Angel, head of the CAA Base agency, is also said to have enjoyed a close relationship with Levy over the past couple of decades. Postecoglou is represented by CAA Base, which has a corporate box at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that has hosted Paratici since he gave up his official position and retained an unofficial consultancy role. Former Spurs manager David Pleat, who was at Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea, is another person whose opinion Levy has valued in the past, although he recently described how he was told his scouting was no longer required by the club.

London Telegraph