Just over a week after delivering Tottenham’s first major trophy in 17 years, Ange Postecoglou is reportedly on the brink of being sacked.
Despite lifting the Europa League and booking Champions League football for next season, the former Celtic manager is said to be on his way out at Spurs.
Football Insider reports that the Tottenham hierarchy has already decided to cut ties with Postecoglou, having waited for the emotions of their triumph in Bilbao to cool and for the fanbase’s reaction to surface. The move, if true, would represent a staggering dismissal of a manager who’s overcome massive adversity this season.
Spurs’ league campaign was a disaster. A chronic injury crisis left Ange working with a patched-up squad for most of the year, and the club stumbled to a finish just above the relegation zone. Even so, he masterminded a European run that ended with silverware — their first since 2008 — and the added bonus of Champions League qualification.
Celtic fans will be watching this unfold with disbelief, but not surprise. Ange was a transformative figure in Glasgow’s East End, winning five out of six domestic trophies across two seasons and restoring a winning mentality at the club. He built a new-look side that re-established Celtic’s dominance in Scotland and played football that matched the fans’ expectations.
What Postecoglou achieved in his short time at Celtic made his move to England inevitable. But Tottenham, true to form, appear incapable of recognising what they’ve got. Even now, in the face of clear progress, they look set to bin a manager who’s just won them a European trophy and brought Champions League football back to the club.