- Postecoglou has revealed that he usually wins titles in his second season in charge.
- Revealed that this year will focus on consistency after last year started well but lost control in the later stages.
- Confirmed that players will be carefully selected to bring each one into the team.
Entering the second year in the Premier League for veteran manager Ange Postecoglou with Tottenham Hotspur. He recently gave an interview to Sky Sports about his goals and determination for this season, which is to lead Spurs to win their first trophy in 16 years.
Today, 90MIN would like to take everyone to watch the full interview with ‘Ange’ and what his plans are to lead the Spurs team back to touch the trophy once again.
What have you taken from pre-season?
“The players have certainly matured, they are more open to different approaches to training and methods. It’s fair to say things were new for them last year. It was a change from what they were used to. “
Whenever you have change there’s always uncertainty but this year they seem more comfortable embracing what we have to do and what we’ve always done. Which is good for me and all the coaches. Of course, because it gives us a sense that we can challenge the teams and ourselves and we can bring bigger things to the club than we did last year.”
How do you feel about your second season in charge?
“I’m not the new boy anymore because there are a lot of new managers coming in, people will look at them and start digging up their history and then they won’t bother me anymore. “
Normally I would win something in my second season, that’s the target because the first year is to build principles and build the foundations of the สมัคร ufabet team. So hopefully we’ll start to get some of that back in the second season. Of course, it’s easier said than done, especially in the Premier League, but it’s always been my aim, in the second year you have to be in a position where you can go on, but it also depends on how well you do in the first year. “
We had good times last year and of course we had difficult times as well. I think we learned a lot from those times and this year I’m sure we’re better prepared than last year.
What’s next for the team?
“What we found last year is that when we started to stumble, whether it was injuries or suspensions, we were too undisciplined and we couldn’t maintain the standard of football that we had at the beginning. “
You’re going to have challenges every year anyway, so it’s about managing things better. Having a strong squad helps to manage that to some extent. We have to be committed to understanding those moments because it means we’re ready to deal with the things that are coming up. “
It doesn’t matter what you did last year because every team goes into the new season thinking they’re going to have a tough time and I hope we can learn and improve from what we did last year because the group of players is still very young and a lot of them are in their first year in the Premier League or maybe their first year at Tottenham. But if you look at the standards you can see they did very well last year and if we can build on that then it will take us to a very good place.”
Is there anything you would like to improve?
“I think in every area. The first question is, do I have a group of players who believe in our style? I think that’s the first step in the whole process. We brought in this style of play because it’s challenging. You have to be brave and you have to do things a little bit differently, whether it’s positioning or playmaking. You have to be open to it, and in the first year we tried to get the players to accept that. “
Maybe because we started well we didn’t get a lot of resistance. The players enjoyed it and were interested in playing like that. But now it’s about being more consistent and not letting the opposition or external factors pull you off track. I think it happened a lot last year, whether it was the opposition’s game plan or what we did, or even the lack of discipline and injuries that made us change teams. We weren’t consistent enough, but I still think for the most part the players are trying to do what we want them to do. Hopefully we can manage it better.”
Have you spoken to him after James Maddison was left out of the Euro 2024 squad?
“I haven’t spoken to him personally but I think it’s part of the journey of football. I always say sometimes we look at things a little too flat and we think things are going to work out and they’re not. You can be very good at something but you’re going to have challenges. You’ve got to struggle along the way. It’s more about how you deal with it and how you’re ready to take on new challenges. “
“For Madders, I’m sure he’s going to be very disappointed to be left out because he was part of that squad all the time. But he’s got great quality and he’s always had challenges. It’s about how he deals with it. Are you the type of person who can let go of disappointment or can you use it as motivation? Do you use it as a mirror to yourself or can you improve? If you’re honest enough to ask yourself those questions then you might find you’re still on the right track. You just have to keep going. “
“He’s looked great since he came back in training. His performances last season were a mirror to us as well. His performances were incredible before he got injured. It was a bit difficult when he came back, and so was our team. So I hope that what we learn together with the team, he will take away a personal lesson because he is an important player for us. Our team is still very young and he is one of the players with a lot of experience. He has quality and he is someone that we hope will lead the team through things.”
How much do you think signing players will help?
“It’s a big part of the process, and it comes back to what I’ve always said, signing people is about understanding that you’re not signing a player, you’re signing a person. What kind of people are they? Why do they want to come to Tottenham? Are they committed? It’s all about those things. I hope it’s something they already believe. In because when they come here they feel it’s a place they feel comfortable. “
I hope they walk into a dressing room with people who have the same attitude. Because it helps them see what we’re doing. It’s easier for the new players coming in this year because they’ll walk into a dressing room with a clear understanding of what we’re trying to do. Whereas last year it was me trying to create that environment, I tried to paint a picture for everyone, not just the players or the staff, but everyone at the club. “
I hope the new players coming in this year can walk into the dressing room and know straight away what we’re trying to do.”
Technically, what kind of attacker are you looking for?
“If I’m looking for a left winger, it’s a specific quality that I want to see in a player because at the end of the day, you can pick any good footballer. You pick a player and he could be a great player, but I need to pick the one that fits our team the best. It’s very important that he has the qualities that we want. “
“It will make our job a lot easier in one way, but on the other hand it’s quite challenging because our selection is very specific. In the current market, it’s not easy to get exactly the qualities you want. For me, whether it’s an attacker or a position player, it’s about whether I see the qualities in the team training tomorrow. Of course we have to teach them and take them through the process, but at the end of the day it depends on whether they have the qualities that we want. If they do, then we say, ‘Okay, we think you’re the right fit.’
What do you have to say about fans worried about the summer transfer window? (Ahead of signings Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert)
“I understand the worry because the transfer window is the only time you can improve your players and your team. “
I like to think that in every transfer window we have to be stronger. Of course last year we brought in a lot of good players. We brought in Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner in January. We brought in two players, Archie Gray, a young talent, and Lucas [Bergvall]. Even though we signed him in January we still have work to do. Of course, that’s the nature of the transfer window. “
For me, I’m just as worried as you are because it’s the time of year when I have the least control. It would be nice if I could do everything myself, but it’s not possible. “I
understand the mood of the fans at the moment, but my job is to try to stay calm, to be organised and wait until the last day of the transfer window, which is a very important time. We had good times when we could sign good players and make the team stronger.