Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has described the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou as “emotionally difficult.”
Postecoglou became Spurs’ head coach in June 2023 and he led them to a fifth-placed finish during his first season. Tottenham suffered from a crippling injury crisis during his second year in charge which negatively impacted their domestic form. Spurs lost 22 games under Postecoglou and finished 17th but they won their first piece of silverware since 2008 with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.
Postecoglou was sacked by Spurs 16 days after lifting that trophy in Bilbao and on the second anniversary of his appointment. Thomas Frank was announced as the new head coach last week.
In a rare interview, conducted alongside new chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, published on the club’s YouTube channel, Levy explained why Postecoglou left.
“I’m very grateful to Ange,” Levy said. “I don’t regret appointing Ange. In his first season we finished fifth and in the second season we were over the moon to win a trophy but we need to compete in all competitions. We felt that we needed a change.
“I have got an excellent relationship with him and told him he will always be a part of our history. Himself and his family are always welcome back. It was a collective decision. It wasn’t my decision. We do everything together. Emotionally it was difficult but we believe we have made the right decision for the club.”
Venkatesham described the “thorough” process behind hiring Frank.
Spurs identified 10 key characteristics which they felt a manager needed to possess to be successful and analysed more than 30 candidates before Frank emerged as their first choice. Venkatesham specifically praised Frank’s track record of developing young talent after he improved Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Ivan Toney during his time with Brentford and previously worked with Denmark’s youth teams.
“Whenever you have a new coach it is always a fresh start,” Levy said. “You have different ideas. We want to build on the success of winning a trophy last season. One of the things that stood out to me with Thomas — clearly highly intelligent, great communicator, super human being plus all of the other technical aspects that are important.”
Frank’s first competitive game in charge of Spurs will be the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on August 13. Before that, Spurs head to Hong Kong and South Korea for a pre-season tour where they will face Arsenal and Newcastle United.
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