'I'm not a clown' - Ange Postecoglou lets rip at Tottenham reporter before Europa League final
Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou was in quotable form during what could have been one of his last pre-match press conferences with the club.
Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou berated a reporter on the eve of their Europa League final with Manchester United for suggesting he could be remembered as a "clown".
The final in Bilbao is expected to be Postecoglou's penultimate match in charge of Spurs, whose Premier League campaign concludes at home against Brighton on Sunday. The club are bidding to win their first trophy since 2008 against United.
Spurs are 17th in the Premier League in their worst top flight season since they were relegated in 1977 but Postecoglou, who took over at the club in 2023, won a trophy in his second season in charge of former clubs South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F. Marinos and Celtic.
A piece in the Evening Standard on Tuesday stated, "As Spurs prepare for Bilbao, Postecoglou is therefore in a strange position, teetering between hero and clown."
When the reporter responsible for the piece asked Postecoglou a question as to whether he was conscious of the fine line between success and failure, Postecoglou rounded on him.
"That depends on your outlook, but I'll tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I'm not a clown and never will be," Postecoglou fumed.
"You really disappointed me that you used such terminology to describe a person that for 26 years, without any favours from anyone, has worked his way to be in a position where he is leading out a club in a major European competition.
"For you to suggest that somehow us not being successful means that I'm a clown, I'm not really sure how to answer that question."
Postecoglou previously suggested he was regarded as "a clown" when Celtic appointed him as their head coach in 2021.
The Australian also added his future is "assured", whatever the outcome of the final against United. "My future is assured, I wouldn't be the first person who changes jobs, mate, we all change jobs. I'm sure you've had more than one job. My future's assured.
"I've got a beautiful family, I've got a great life, I'll keep on winning trophies until I finish so don't worry about my future, mate. My future is not entwined with anything.
"My future is assured, provided, god willing, my health remains and my beautiful family's beside me and my friends. There's nothing wrong with my future, mate. Don't stress, mate. Sleep easier at night. I will be okay.
"I don't think my job is done here. I really feel like we're building something and winning a trophy hopefully accelerates that so I still think there's a lot of work to be done.
"The challenges we've had this year are well chronicled but there's some reasoning in that in the context of that but also there's been some growth I'd like to see through. Whether that happens or not is not that important right now.
"I think this job is far from finished, there's some growth there that we can take this club to where it needs to be."