Ange Postecoglou approached his interview with Gary Neville and the Stick to Football team armed with stories of his rise from the “factory floor” to winning silverware in four countries and on the international stage with Australia as a head coach.
There are countless accounts from former coaching colleagues and players waxing lyrical about Postecoglou’s ability as an orator, with tales of how players would “run through walls for him” so common they have become a trope. It was evident again in front of Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, who laughed and nodded along as he owned the narrative around the Europa League success at Tottenham Hotspur, and concurrent league collapse, as well as the 39-day disaster at Nottingham Forest, admitting it was a “bad decision” to take the job so soon after being sacked by Spurs.
But perhaps his most considered answer came as the interview was drawing to a close, when Neville asked the 60-year-old what it takes to manage Manchester United.
“My view is that (Manchester United) is the hardest job in world football,” Postecoglou said. “The scrutiny that the club has, and the spotlight it’s constantly under, beholden to the history it has, it’s going to take a unique individual to be able to overcome.”
Postecoglou then lists several characteristics he believes a United manager needs to be successful.
“A person who can handle over 100 press conferences every year.” Shortly before, Postecoglou noted that he had fronted the media over 130 times in his second year as Spurs boss.
“Handling winning 10 games and being torn apart for losing one.” Well, it wasn’t 10 wins in a row, but Postecoglou famously went 10 league games unbeaten as Spurs boss to start his reign, winning eight, before there was a public trial of his methods after the chaotic 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023, where he infamously stood by his “Ange-ball” principles despite going down to nine players.
“Winning and not winning in the right style.” Cue references to Tottenham’s Europa League triumph, where Spurs beat United 1-0 in the final with 26.7 per cent possession and one shot on target.
“History being a constant companion to everything you do.” Like, for example, shedding the ‘Spursy’ tag that seemed to suffocate Tottenham in their 17-year trophyless period.
“So it’s going to have to be someone who’s prepared to accept all that and be strong enough as an individual to say, ‘I will do it, but I’ll do it my way’.”
In other words, Postecoglou indirectly threw his hat in the ring for the United job.
It seems unlikely he will be under consideration if United decide to move on from interim head coach Michael Carrick at the end of the season and appoint a new permanent boss. Appointing a coach directly after failing at Forest does not tally with United’s status as one of the world’s biggest and greatest football clubs.
But whether you view it as audacity or boldness, Postecoglou’s apparent belief that he could be the person to restore United’s glory is why the Premier League is ultimately a better product with him involved.
And if there was any suggestion that he had mellowed after finding success by abandoning his principles in the latter stages of the Europa League in favour of a more pragmatic style, Postecoglou again outlined that his outlook would never change.
“If a club starts talking to me, it’s not like I’m going to walk in and do things differently,” he said, affirming his footballing values. “Do they really want what I have to offer? I’m going to play this way, I’m going to train this way, and I want to win things. I’ve done that my whole career.”
Despite not yet reaching 100 games in charge of a Premier League club, he remains one of English football’s biggest draws. Last week’s Stick to Football episode, recorded shortly after his successor, Thomas Frank, was sacked by Spurs, was the fastest in its history to reach one million views.
For context, the show frequently features British sporting icons, including David Beckham and golf career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy. Still, Postecoglou, who only entered the radar of British football fans after taking charge of Celtic in June 2021, manages to grip audiences better than almost anyone else in the game with his straight-talking brand and non-negotiable footballing approach.
Whether he’s a good fit for an English club is a different question. Asked which challenge he’d like next, he replied, “Something new, something I can make an impact in, somewhere I can win things.” His desire not to return to a previous club takes Tottenham, who will be in the market for a permanent manager in the summer, and Forest out of the picture. And aside from the usual suspects competing for trophies at the top of the table, there is not much out there for a coach who is unabashed in equating achievement and success with trophies.
Perhaps he could be the man to take over from David Moyes at Everton at some point, a club with a sparkling new home and refreshed aspirations. He credited Eddie Howe for his Carabao Cup win last year in the interview, and Postecoglou’s desire to lift silverware and play attractive football might align with the fervent Newcastle United support. Or if Nuno Espirito Santo keeps West Ham United in the Premier League, the idea of rebuilding a big club with recent trophy success in his image would appeal. Ultimately, however, the options in England appear both unlikely and few and far between.
But as a character and a bastion of the beautiful game — lamenting long throws and VAR at every opportunity — Postecoglou continues to charm British football. Whether that translates to another crack at the Premier League whip, however, remains to be seen.