Recent managers at Tottenham have produced explosive press conferences and dull football. Ange Postecoglou intends to reverse the pattern.
Speaking for the first time since he became the first Australian manager appointed to work in the Premier League, the 57-year-old spoke in a low gravelly voice that exuded calm and determination.
It was a far contrast from the histrionics of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte under whom the club stagnated.
(Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
His message, though, was full of attacking intent.
“Anyone that has charted the course of my career will know if you watch my teams play, they all have the same basic elements in there,” he said on Monday.
“The elements of it will be – we want to be an aggressive team, a dominant team, a team who takes the game to every opposition home and away.
“I think for me the history of this football club kind of suggests that is the best fit for it.”
Born in Greece but bred in Melbourne Postecoglou’s most recent roles over the last 14 years, all successful, have been with Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, Australia, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic.
But the Premier League, he said, was never a target.
“I can’t say it was a goal,” he said. “I’ve come literally from the other side of the world and wanted to experience as much as possible to see where that takes me.
It wasn’t an ambition of mine but everything I’ve done I try to do with the best of my ability to help give me a career where I can realise everything I want to do.”
He was unconcerned about the negative reaction to him by some with the hashtag #NoToPostecoglou trending on Twitter before his appointment.
“I’ve never taken social media as a barometer of how people really think of me,” he said.
“Unless you’ve spoken to every Tottenham fan worldwide and it comes back that they don’t want me then I’m not paying attention.”
Postecoglou said he would like to keep England captain Harry Kane who is the subject of interest from Bayern Munich.
Kane will return to training on Wednesday and Postecoglou said, “I haven’t had any assurances and I wouldn’t expect any assurances,.
“He’s one of the premier strikers in the world and I want him involved.
“What I want is to introduce myself to Harry and give him my vision of the football club and get a sense from him on what he thinks the club needs to do to be successful and walk out on that training pitch and try to make it happen.”
Kane is expected to join Tottenham’s pre-season tour which begins on July 14 with a match in Australia against West Ham in Perth four days later, before visiting Thailand and Singapore.
Postecoglou’s Premier League debut will be away to Brentford on August 13.
He inherits a club that have gone 15 years without a trophy and missed out on European football for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
“You paint a pretty bleak picture – I was excited about this role,” he laughed when asked about the trophy drought.
“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,” he said.
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