The photo that sums up Postecoglou’s Tottenham revolution

There is a photograph that made its way on to Tottenham Hotspur fan social media accounts that sums up Ange Postecoglou’s approach since arriving at the club.

It was taken inside the vast dome at Tottenham’s futuristic training ground and has the first-team squad at its centre flanked by every single member of staff who works there: from coaches to chefs to cleaners to the communications team. No one, however junior, was left out.

One in, all in: The entire club in one photo.Credit: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club

The photograph was not meant to be released publicly – it was not a gimmick or a stunt – although everyone involved was sent a copy. And it was Postecoglou’s idea, along with Spurs’ new chief football officer – and fellow Australian – Scott Munn.

The photograph sent a clear message: We are all in this together. We are a team. It is therefore a symbolic part of the “change of environment”, as Postecoglou puts it, that has led to a transformation on and off the pitch at Spurs. In fact, staff have talked about a weight being lifted off their shoulders after years of feeling downtrodden; of a sense of togetherness and, yes, liberation since Postecoglou arrived.

His approach is encapsulated by the “open door” policy he operates at the training ground. It means that anyone can come and chat to him in his office – as long as they have a reason to do so. That is because Postecoglou does not do small talk. “I don’t have the attention span for long meetings, mate. It just tends to be casual chats,” he says but those chats always end up with an answer. Do not, as a staff member says, go and see him “to shoot the breeze” and expect to be asked to lunch.

Australian coaching maestro Ange Postecoglou.Credit: Getty Images

A workaholic and, unusually in football, ‘a nice guy’

Postecoglou is not interested in those kinds of conversations but he is unfailingly polite and punctual, he remembers everyone’s name and he always says hello when he walks past someone in the corridor, whoever they are. He is also, like so many high-achieving coaches, a workaholic who demands even more of himself than he demands of others. Postecoglou is first in every morning because culturally he needs to set that example.

“He’s a genuinely nice guy who treats people with respect and gives them responsibility to do their jobs. I know that sounds simple but it is unusual in football,” one staff member says.

For example, a subtle but obvious difference that has been felt throughout the club is the training schedule. Under Antonio Conte, in particular, it was often left to the last minute with players and staff sometimes only informed just 24 hours in advance what the plans were.

That caused a huge amount of frustration, especially when it came to home lives. Now things are planned weeks ahead while players no longer have to stay on-site at Spurs’ Lodge before home games.

Everyone knows what the plan is and, having been given two days off this week after two games in five days the previous week, it was telling that the first-team squad all found time to enjoy a team meal.

“The reason it was fun was because I wasn’t there,” Postecoglou says in that playfully deadpan manner of his. Instead, he and his wife Georgia were guests of Spurs-supporting Sir Kenneth Branagh on the opening night of King Lear at Wyndham’s Theatre on Tuesday and attended the after-party at Browns Covent Garden.

So far, so outstandingly good. Spurs are top of the Premier League table, as they prepare to face Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea at home on Tuesday morning (AEDT), and are unbeaten in 10 league games.

It is their best-ever start and Postecoglou has been shortlisted for October’s manager of the month award having won it in August and September.

What is also a surprise is how quickly it has happened. Postecoglou has enjoyed success at all his previous clubs but usually it has been a slow burn. Spurs have ignited immediately which also feels even more of an indictment of those who preceded him.

For a club that was ridiculed at the end of last season, finished a lame eighth and without a European place, a club traumatised by Conte which then lost Harry Kane on the eve of the campaign, it has been extraordinary.

Nagelsmann and Slot were ahead of him on Spurs’ wishlist

Plus Postecoglou was far from their first-choice when he was hired from Celtic. Spurs tried for Julian Nagelsmann and they felt let down by Feyenoord’s Arne Slot but they were the kind of young, exciting managers they wanted to hire. A 58-year-old Australian looked like a gamble for a club who could not afford another failure.

Postecoglou did not even make Spurs’ original shortlist. But he held in there and waited … and waited – and he really wanted the job and, effectively, became the last man standing. It helped that his agent, another Australian, Frank Trimboli from CAA Base, has a very strong, long-standing relationship with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and he pushed his case.

So it was refreshing, and this has not been lost on staff, to have a manager who wants to be at Spurs. For various reasons that never felt the case with either Jose Mourinho or Conte who left the impression that the job was beneath them.

Postecoglou has had a number of easy wins – and not least because he is very different from his three immediate predecessors, also including Nuno Espirito Santo. He wants to play positive, attractive football and that helps. It means several players have spoken about feeling freed up while his approach instantly brought the beleaguered fans onside.

Neither has Postecoglou made any bold promises. He did not try to dress up the situation surrounding Kane’s future and took the striker’s inevitable, seismic departure to Bayern Munich in his stride while the subtle way he handled appointing Son Heung-min as Spurs’ next captain was impressive.

That decision was intertwined with Kane’s future. For some time Son had been considering his own options. If Spurs had not made the Champions League in 2022, when they dramatically pipped Arsenal to fourth place under Conte, then Son would likely have left. Liverpool were sniffing around and it is thought he was interested.

Making Son captain ‘a masterstroke’

Last summer there were big-money approaches from Saudi Arabia, which Son turned down, but he might have departed elsewhere had Kane not been sold. Levy, however, would never have contemplated losing both of his star players and it was with a mixture of serendipity, but also prior knowledge, that Postecoglou tapped into the situation.

Naming Son captain was both obvious and a masterstroke. Postecoglou knew what a devastatingly important player he is, not least in scoring against Australia in the 2015 Asian Cup. Postecoglou’s Australia won the competition but Son left a lasting impression. Not only does he command respect among his teammates and sets an example but he is also resilient and is a far tougher character than his deferentially polite demeanour suggests.

Son Heung-Min and Tottenham teammates celebrate a goal.Credit: Getty Images

Leading South Korea, given what a superstar Son is in his homeland, means he also knows all about pressure and dealing with expectation. Making Son captain was suddenly the key to an overhaul that was coming. Interestingly, partly through necessity, Postecoglou disbanded Spurs’ leadership group of Hugo Lloris, Kane, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The Spurs squad is not packed with obvious, natural leaders. But they are beginning to emerge. New signing James Maddison is vice captain and is in the new leadership group along with the other vice captain Cristian Romero, the Argentinian World Cup winner Postecoglou calls “a real strong personality” with a “real winner’s mindset”.

No bomb squad

Interestingly and despite being for sale in the last transfer window, and hoping to leave, Hojbjerg is also still involved which is part of another approach from Postecoglou: he does not “freeze out” unwanted players. Unlike some other coaches there is no “bomb squad” at Spurs and the first-teamers, even those with little chance of playing such as Lloris and Dier, all train together. Postecoglou understands that players resent their teammates being isolated partly because they know it could happen to them one day.

There are two other subtle but vital areas which have marked out Postecoglou as different: the recruitment of players and his backroom staff. Pochettino complained when he was at Spurs that he was a coach rather than a manager – even though he eventually earned the latter title – because ultimately he suggested he had little say in signings while for Mourinho and Conte it was always a point of tension.

Insisted on recruitment veto

Postecoglou is adamant: he has the ultimate veto on who is brought in and that is a non-negotiable. He also wants to talk to each recruit before they are signed and what was so remarkable during the last window was Spurs’ hit-rate – from Maddison to Micky van de Ven to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to Brennan Johnson. They have all been successes so far.

“He said at the end of it: ‘Well, really good to talk. But James, whether you decide to come or not, you’re going to see a completely different Tottenham team,’” Maddison says of his conversation with Postecoglou before signing. “I just loved the confidence that he said that with … and that kind of just left that bit in my mind where I thought: ‘Yeah, I want to go and work with this guy.”

Postecoglou insisted on a similar level of involvement at Celtic – where he personally brought in the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota – and also at Japanese club Yokohama F Mariners where his signings included the influential Brazilians Marcos Júnior and Thiago Martins.

Even more fascinating has been Postecoglou’s attitude towards his coaching team. Unlike Pochettino, Mourinho or Conte he does not arrive with an entourage. He did not insist that anyone was brought in with him from Celtic and has never done that. Instead, Postecoglou worked with Spurs but – crucially – also interviewed each candidate before an appointment was made including Ryan Mason, who was already in situ and had been caretaker, but was not guaranteed a role, and Chris Davies.

At the same time Postecoglou identified Mile Jedinak, another Australian and a former Crystal Palace and Aston Villa midfielder, as a promising young coach. He likes to act as a mentor, especially with his countrymen who often struggle to convince clubs to employ them and did so with the former Millwall defender Kevin Muscat who succeeded him at Yokohama.

What is then instructive is the level of responsibility Postecoglou affords them. He allows the coaches to take training sessions as he often adopts a more old-school overseeing role and – even more importantly – he wants them to address the squad in team meetings. This is particularly unusual but Postecoglou believes that players will grow tired of just hearing his voice despite being such a natural orator.

Mile Jedinak during his Socceroos days.Credit: Getty Images

“The best thing about Ange is what you see is what you get,” a Spurs’ staff member says.

And that is it. No one at the club, and not least Postecoglou who believes Spurs have a huge way to go, is getting carried away. There are tough games to come and top four would be a huge success this season.

But the standards he is setting are extremely high. “We’ve just changed the environment,” Postecoglou reiterates – as if it were that simple. But the core principles are clear. Finally, Spurs are united again – as that inclusive photograph shows.

Telegraph, London

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