Ange Postecoglou has done something that hasn’t been done since Juande Ramos in 2008 — he has successfully won a trophy for Tottenham Hotspur. But like Ramos, who was fired a few months later, Postecoglou now finds himself without clarity about his own job status. After Sunday’s 4-1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, their 22nd of the season, Spurs finished the season in 17th place, safe from relegation but otherwise at the bottom of the table.
After the Europa League winning match against Manchester United, Postecoglou revealed that he made a decision in January to focus on winning a trophy this season at the expense of league position, as that’s what he believed was needed to unify the fanbase and kick-start the club’s development. Winning that trophy felt like the equivalent of Babe Ruth pointing with his bat towards where he was going to hit his next home run. But it doesn’t paper over the fact that Spurs have finished in their worst position in the table since the Premier League came into existence. 17th and a trophy feels like one of those wild hypotheticals that fans like to entertain themselves with in the offseason.
But even the cascade of good vibes over the past five days seemingly hasn’t been enough to secure his position as head coach of Spurs next season. We are still waiting for chairman Daniel Levy to either make a decision or reveal his decision to the public. And because Levy made any public comments about Ange’s future, we are stuck in a limbo, waiting to find out whether Spurs will reward Ange for breaking the trophy drought, or shake his hand and move on.
That radio silence seems to be frustrating to Postecoglou, as he seemingly is the only public face of the club. In the press conference following Spurs’ season-ending loss to Brighton, Ange was one again asked about his job status. This time, Postecoglou seemed to acknowledge the ambiguity of his current situation, and laid out what felt like his most robust defense of his job this season.
“I will be honest I have been finding it really weird talking about my future when we have done something unprecedented. I have had to answer the questions because no one else at the club is in the position to do so I guess. But I can’t answer that question about me and my future. Like I said, part of me is thinking ‘why am I even being asked that question?’ But it is what it is.
“I have got no doubt though that [winning the Europa League] could be a real defining moment for this club because wherever I have been I have made an impact where I have brought success to a club that hasn’t had it for a while. You just have to look at those clubs’ trajectory even after I left, they are still competing for things. I really think this is a moment in time where this club could push on and be a real contender for honors on a yearly basis.
“From my perspective, I made decisions that I felt were giving us the best chance of achieving the goal we needed to achieve this year and that has affected our league form. If people don’t want to take that into account, then there is nothing I can say to explain it any better than that.
“I came to the club and we had finished eighth. I didn’t take over a club that had finished second. They had no European football to speak of. Lost the one player who probably guarantees you European football. That was my starting point. At the end of two years, I’ve got the club a trophy it has been crying out for, Champions League football, we finished fifth last year. Either people are saying ‘last year it was a huge anomaly for us to finish fifth or this is what we deliver right.’
“I have got no doubt next year we will be in a much stronger position, challenging for the top places. I have got no doubt we will tackle the Champions League with the same determination that we tackled the Europa League. I have no doubts about that. If people are seeking any more evidence about me, then there is nothing I’m going to say that’s going to convince them if they haven’t seen it in the last two years.”
Ange is right about a couple of things here. First, the silence coming from Daniel Levy and the rest of the Spurs board is deafening. While the game is the game, it feels both unfair and churlish for Postecoglou to be expected to answer questions about his own job status, especially after winning the club a potentially transformative European title. It feels absolutely bonkers that he could be let go after giving the club what it has coveted for nearly two decades. But here we are.
In retrospect, this Tottenham team is also significantly more flawed than what it appeared last summer. This season, Spurs seemed to really feel the absence of Harry Kane, and the summer transfer window, which focused on youth and potential over experience, meant that Spurs’ depth was less experienced and ill-equipped from competing in multiple competitions. This was in no way a team built to compete for top five and to go deep in the cups, and Ange spells that out pretty clearly.
“I’ve already said that’s part of it, but also, as I said, we signed three teenagers at the start of the year. Like we signed two 18 year olds and a 19 year old. We went in that direction. If you think about who left last year, players with experience. So whenever you do that, there’s always going to be a little bit of a gap in the development. So that cascading into our injury situation at the start of the year, obviously had a massive effect on what we could do in the league..
“And again, it was our success in the Carabao Cup and our success in the Europa League that added to that as well. So you either assess it all in its totality or you just separate and say, well, you know what, it’s just not good enough, or it’s unbelievable. So you either fall into those categories.
“But at the start of next year, we will be in a much better position from the point of view of even the three young boys we signed, even though Lucas is not a young boy anymore, he’s going to be a massive contributor at the start of the year. You know, that wasn’t the case, Archie and Wilson’s hardly played this year.
“And if we do some good business in the transfer market, obviously brings some experience in, I’m not talking about age, I’m talking about players who have played at this level and can help the team, then I’ve got no doubt we can make the impact we want.”
Postecoglou doesn’t shy away from the league form — he readily admits that the Premier League position Spurs finds itself in is unprecedented and unacceptable. He’s said so repeatedly. His comments here suggest that he’s aware of his tenuous status, but that his past record at other clubs should inform what Tottenham can expect going forward, should they opt to retain him.
It’s the most full-throated defense of his own methods and ability I’ve seen from him this season. The only thing left is to wait and see if Daniel Levy accepts it.