Ange Postecoglou delivered an incredible interview with Network 10 after going down 3-2 to West Ham in his debut match as Tottenham Hotspur manager in Perth.
After showing little emotion about being back in Australia for his first match in charge of the Premier League club during his pre-match press conference, the trailblazing boss spoke candidly on live TV – to the point he openly admitted to nearly swearing – about ‘living the dream’ as Spurs boss, his ‘great responsibility’ as a representative of Australian coaches and much more.
Asked by former Socceroo Jacob about if he ever gets the chance to stop and think about all the coaches aspiring to reach the heights he is currently enjoying, Postecoglou said: “No I don’t mate. Everything happens… look, although at the same time I am mindful of the fact that is how we grew up.
“Going to watch teams like this, that gave us the inspiration for you to go overseas, for us to love the game. So being back here with the team and obviously being an Australian, it doesn’t get lost on me that there is a great responsibility apart from obviously representing the football club, I’m representing a lot of people who love our game.
“That is why I’ve got to be successful, mate. I’ve got to keep being successful so that hopefully we get more coming through.”
ANALYSIS: Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham summed up in eight passes and the moment that made him applaud
WHAT ANGE LEARNED: Spurs boss identifies key area Spurs must improve after West Ham defeat
Asked later by host Tara Rushton if he was having fun as Spurs manager, despite the high stakes nature of the job, he added: “I’m living the dream. I don’t say that flippantly. I was a boy who grew up here in Australia, there is nothing that I’m thinking what have I gotten myself into.
“I’m exactly where I want to be. I love every minute of it. I’ve loved every minute of every job I’ve had. This is another layer, I enjoy it immensely.”
After watching his Spurs side go down to West Ham, while dominating 73% of possession and attempting 32 shots to seven, Postecoglou gave a remarkable reflection on the display he had just seen and the ultimate goal of this first pre-season at the club.
Such was his passion, he almost used a profanity on live television.
“I’ve got to be careful. At the end of the day, I’m asking them to do things they haven’t done before,” he explained.
“They’re all fantastic footballers, it’s about allowing them to be able to make mistakes along the way. I’ll take responsibility for that. We weren’t as organised as we should have been, there were a couple of things that weren’t structurally right. That’s on me.
“Beyond that for me the most important thing is their willingness to try and play and implement the stuff I’m doing. Mate, you know better than me there is going to be bumps along the road, that is where your belief gets tested. I love this bit.”
He continued: “That is what you want. You want the players to feel good out there and say ‘this is working’.
“This is what I want, I want to dominate teams, I want to play in the opposition half, create chances, be exciting, do all those things and hopefully they feed off that and it give me the impetus then to say ok there is another layer to that about how we become harder to beat, become stronger from a defensive perspective, all these kind of things.
“If you do that, you get all the cream. You get all the stuff you really love. I almost swore then, by the way!”
Postecoglou has risen to the glitz and glamour of the Premier League from from humble beginnings in the National Soccer League with South Melbourne, before graduating into the A-Leagues and beyond internationally.
He was asked if working with such a large staff – which now includes his former Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak – sees him relinquish any duties.
Instead, Australia’s first Premier League manager suggested it is the fact he had to perform all of those duties during his time earning his stripes in Australia that actually gives him an edge on other coaches.
“Not really,” he said. That is the beauty of sort of learning my trade here. I had to do everything when I first started. I was doing the video analysis, the scouting, everything.
“That is the beauty of it. It allows me now, yeah I’ve got some brilliant people working in these areas, but I can be across everything.
“What I keep telling the people working with me (is) just overload me with information, I’m good at filtering stuff, I want to know what is going on and I enjoy that part of it. I enjoy understanding every part of the job and what it entails, I don’t like relinquishing any of it. It is because in my beginnings I was doing all of it, I love that aspect and it’s probably the advantage I have over other managers.”
Watch all the goals below via KEEPUP’s matchday blog.
KEEPUP’S PERTH TOUR COVERAGE
SON & ANGE: The Son Heung-Min gag that showed another side of Postecoglou
ANGE’S WWC CHALLENGE: ‘It’s what happens from now’: Postecoglou’s Women’s World Cup ultimatum to Australia
AUS FOOTBALL VERDICT: David Moyes was asked about Aussie football. His answer was fascinating
