The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has been talking about his time at the club and what he wanted to happen in the transfer window
Ange Postecoglou does not believe that Tottenham are a big club because of their wage structure and has named four transfers he wanted that could not happen.
The 60-year-old took Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first season at the club before concentrating his injury-hit squad on the Europa League and winning that in his second year. However, the team's 17th-place finish in the Premier League resulted in the Greek-born Australian being sacked at the end of the campaign.
Now his successor Thomas Frank has also been shown the door just seven months into his tenure with Tottenham languishing 16th and five points above the drop zone.
Postecoglou believes his second season could have been very different had the north London club pushed on with the signings he wanted which would have meant adjusting their strict wage structure. Instead they signed teenagers like Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, alongside striker Dominic Solanke, rather than the more ready-made names the head coach had pushed for.
"You look at that list of names [of managers at the club] and there isn't really a common thread through there as to what they're trying to do. And I do think part of Tottenham's DNA, for want of a better word, is they do like their team to play a certain way," Postecoglou said in an interview with The Overlap podcast.
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"And I think it's fair to say with Mauricio [Pochettino] they were going down that path. Although at the same time, I think people have been too dismissive of Harry [Kane's] influence through that period. He's an unbelievable player. If I had Harry the last two years, that first year we finished fifth, I'm convinced we would have finished in Champions League spots. So even him leaving, you can't plug that hole. It's just impossible.
"So when you look at those managers, like I said, they've gone from, you know, Mauricio played a certain way and sort of I think fit the DNA, then the big thing was, well, they haven't won anything. We need winners. So let's go for Jose [Mourinho]. Jose gets them to a cup final and they sack him the week before the cup.
"So you're going, if you're talking about winners, well, in a one-off game, I wouldn't mind Jose being my manager at my club just for a one-off game. What happens beyond that is... And then, you know, then it was Antonio [Conte] because, again, he's another winner, you know, and then Antonio goes and I sort of come in.
"They say, well, we want the football, you know. With Antonio, we made Champions League, but we didn't have the football. So we want the football and you've got the football, even though my DNA is I'll win as well.
"So then we go down that path. So that's what I mean. It's a real curious in terms of understanding what are they trying to build? You know, what are they? Obviously, they've built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities. But when you look at the expenditure, particularly, you know, their wages structure, they're not a big club."
He added: "I saw that because when we were trying to sign players, we weren't in the market for those players. There's certain players that we... I mean, at the end of my first year, when we finished fifth, for me, okay, how do you go from fifth to really challenging? Well, we had to sign Premier League-ready players.
"But finishing fifth that year didn't get us Champions League, we didn't have the money. So we ended up signing Dom Solanke, who was absolutely... I was really keen on him, I really like him, and three teenagers.
"You know, I was looking at Pedro Neto and [Bryan] Mbeumo and [Antoine] Semenyo at the time, Marc Guehi, because I said we need, if we're going to go from fifth to there, that's what the other big clubs would do in that moment. And those three teenagers are outstanding young players and I think they'll be great players for Tottenham, but they're not going to get you from fifth to fourth and third.
"But what was coming out from the club was that 'no, we're a club that can compete on all fronts'. So when you say, you've obviously got great experience as a manager, you've managed it all over the world at certain clubs. Is Tottenham different to those other clubs in terms of getting what you want onto the pitch or looking to take the club forward? Well, they're all unique, they're all different.
"But, you know, when you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is 'to dare is to do'. It's everywhere. And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that.
"Whether you like or dislike him, give credit to Daniel [Levy] because that path has got a new stadium, new facilities, but taking a safe path, I think what they didn't realise that to actually win, you've got to take some risks at some point. And that's the DNA of the club."
Postecoglou maintains that Spurs would never has splashed £100million on a player like Arsenal did with Declan Rice during his time in N17.
"I still felt like, you know, Tottenham as a club was saying 'we're one of the big boys' and the reality is I don't think they are in terms of my experience over the last two years of how they act," he said.
"When Arsenal need players, they'll spend a hundred million on Declan Rice. I don't see Tottenham doing that. Maybe now, I don't know. But not, not in, not just my history, even predating me.
"And a lot of that was, okay, they were building a stadium, so obviously finances were a challenge. I guess the bit I didn't realise was just how much Champions League football makes a difference and I think that's why there was always this desperation, because that provided the kitty, you know.
"So that means my first year, they finished eighth the year before. We lost Harry two days before we played Brentford in the first game. I've got to try and that's a tall order. It's a tough one. We almost got there. I mean, if it was fifth any other year, that probably would have been [enough].
"And if we did, maybe last year, we wouldn't have bought three teenagers. But I still don't think, it's not the transfer fee, the wages to really attract. I mean, when was the last time Tottenham really signed somebody and you go 'wow'."
When Roy Keane suggested Paul Gascoigne, Postecoglou said: "Yeah. And you know what, Roy, they talk about that period and they weren't overly successful there, but they did win FA Cups. They did have exciting players.
"And I think the supporters, when I speak to them, they speak fondly of that era. Even though they weren't playing maybe in the Champions League or winning the league, because they did, they had those star players.
"And I think people underestimate the role Harry played over the last 10 years. He's unbelievable. I only worked with him for a couple of months. He's the best player I've ever witnessed close up in my whole career.
"And, alright I haven't been at the highest level, but just watching him at training. Yeah. I mean, we played the last friendly game, like before and I was still hoping, against hope he would stay. And he scored four goals. We played Shakhtar.
"And the next week we were playing Brentford and I know he's not going to be there. So that masked, I think, a lot of things. But it's not like Harry leaves and then you go sign Erling Haaland. That doesn't happen."