Fresh from our Europa League triumph in midweek, Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media on Saturday lunchtime ahead of our final-day Premier League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion (4pm UK).
Here’s a look at some of the things he had to say...
Ange on whether our European celebrations will affect our team selection
“Yes, we’ll field a team! As I’ve got older, I used to be a bit different but I really feel you need to celebrate your achievements properly. That was my message to the boys. It’s really important because it’s important for them, because they’re the ones who have done it and achieved it. It’s important for the people around them because then they can relax and enjoy it as well and then it’s important to make the experience as memorable as possible because when I ask them to climb the mountain again, there’s a reason for it. It’s fair to say they took my words literally and certainly enjoyed themselves over the last couple of days! Like all parties there is always one family member who embarrasses you and you want to keep control of. Fair to say we had a couple of those, but again, it doesn’t make them bad people and they are probably the first ones you reinvite to the next party. The boys are all good. We’ll be good tomorrow.”
Ange on the players’ celebrations
“I stayed right away from it but I just love seeing it and it’s important the boys celebrated. We’ve been through a lot and it is part of how you create this winning mentality and bond because I am sure when they reflect, when they reflect on the game and the feelings afterwards, even the last 24 to 48 hours, the parade yesterday was just unbelievable, all those things are important.”
Ange on what this achievement does for us moving forward
“I said even before the game, I really believe we’re just building something and a significant win accelerates that. I really believe that is the case and I am not going to put a limit on what we can achieve. I certainly believe that it’s exciting the possibilities of next year knowing that we’re a group of players now and staff and a club that knows what it takes to win and wants more of it.”
Ange on his emotions over the last few days
“It’s hard to pin down because you go through a range of emotions, but tremendous pride more than anything else. It’s fair to say we’ve had a really tough time this year and that could have made my position really, really difficult, more difficult than people may imagine because I could have felt very isolated. You know the fact that this group and this staff that I work closely with stayed true, still believed in me, just tremendous pride to see that then come to fruition in something so special. That is why I love sitting back and watching players, staff, our supporters all rejoicing. You take on a great responsibility when you take over as manager of any football club. There is a lot resting on your shoulders and I can tell you every manager that has ever been fortunate enough to win something, the first feeling you have more than anything else is just relief. Relief that all the burden you have carried has been rewarded.”
Ange on the players’ feelings about finishing the league season with a win
“Look, it’s not through a lack of will or trying. As I said, it hasn’t been easy because I’m making seven or eight changes every game. Guys don’t have a rhythm, there’s no connections and we’ve suffered, but even withstanding that we should have been better. Tomorrow we know the fans are going to come to the ground, continue to celebrate and we still want to make it a good day for them. We want to perform well, we want to make sure that we finish the season off strong and we know we need to address our league form. I still believe where we are is not a true reflection of who we are as a team but, within that context, we still need to be better and that's what we’ll try and do tomorrow.”
Ange on players being determined to be involved on Sunday
“I think by the end of training they’re all keen to get out there and perform well. There will be a couple of absences, I should have mentioned that. Romero has been struggling with his toe for quite a while so we’ll leave him out and probably Sonny because his foot has still not healed. They’ve both made a massive effort to get to the final. Bissouma got a knock in the game and he’s kind of 50/50 at the moment. The rest of them, physically anyway, are okay.”
Ange on Dejan Kulusevski being unable to attend the victory parade
“There’s always those kinds of stories whenever it happens. I would have loved Deki to be there because he has been a big part of our season, a big part of what we did and he played such a crucial role at Bodo away to get to the final. I would have loved for him to experience that, but what it does do I know is it will fuel him even more. He’ll be even more determined that next time he will be there and that can only be a good thing for us.”
Ange on the players’ bond after winning the Europa League
“It is significant. They are forever connected now, irrespective of what their futures hold. They’re always going to be connected, they will always have the night in Bilbao, they will always have always be the ones that broke the drought and hopefully there isn’t another drought like it. They’ll always be remembered for that. I think it does bring them closer, which again as I was saying before, that’s how you create a winning culture because I am sure they want to experience it again together as a group. They want to have another moment, they want another night like Bilbao, they want to lift another trophy, they want to have another parade, they probably want to go out again and all those kinds of things. I think it does unite them to an even greater extent.”