Ange Postecoglou has spoken to the media at Hotspur Way ahead of Tottenham's Premier League encounter against West Ham. Following the team's 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, it is very much a game Spurs need to win as they bid to climb the Premier League table.
There is some good news on the injury front going into the London derby as Postecoglou has Son Heung-min and Richarlison available once again following their respective injuries. Wilson Odobert is also nearing a return but this weekend's game comes too soon for him.
In his press conference at the club's Enfield training base, the 59-year-old was quizzed on the West Ham game, Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England boss, giving feedback to his players after the Brighton loss and the latest in regards to Richarlison. Here is what Postecoglou had to say in his press conference:
Have you had a chance to “explode” at the players after Brighton?
I was speaking metaphorically, as you can see because I am here I haven’t exploded. It is one of those where it is as much therapy as anything else, just get things off your chest. At the same time it is about giving the right sort of feedback.
The emotion of what you are feeling straight after the game has dissipated 10 days later but obviously it is important the players get the appropriate feedback for what was a real sort of difficult game for us. As well as we did in the first half, we were really poor in the second half.
Ryan Mason was in talks about becoming Anderlecht’s head coach, how pleased are you that he's still here?
It wasn’t too much in it. I have always worked on the premise that part of my role is also developing coaches and it is something I take great pride in. Ryan is obviously someone who sees himself as one day taking that opportunity.
It is a really important decision for the guys. It’s not like we want them to leave and certainly with Ryan he is doing a great job for us here. At the same time, if it’s something they want to explore then I think it is important they do that because it confirms one thing or another for them in their head about where they are currently at. Whether it is the right job for them.
To be fair to Ryan, he was pretty straightforward with it. I said to him I didn’t want it drawn out, taking any time and he didn’t. He is really happy where he is now and committed to us.
Thomas Tuchel is the new England head coach. You have managed around the world. Could you imagine managing England or another country one day?
From my perspective I enjoyed international football, but I felt by the end of it I was really keen to get back into the day-to-day of club football. That is where I am really passionate about but in the future who knows. I do feel an attachment to certain nations I worked in so I wouldn’t be exclusive to Australia.
In fact I wouldn’t coach the Australian national team again because I have kind of done that. It is a different role, there is greater responsibility, there is a whole nation’s expectations around the position and you feel that but hugely enjoyable as well.
What feedback did you give to the players after Brighton?
The second half was more around we just didn’t look anything like ourselves. We were really passive with and without the ball. We lacked real conviction and courage in everything we did. It was almost like we felt like we had done enough. I hadn’t seen that before in us and it is a good lesson for the whole group that you need to make sure, irrespective of how a game is going, you stick to the core principles of your football.
It is a timely reminder for us, particularly in any game of football and really in the first half we should have finished them off, when you don’t it is very easy for momentum to shift.
West Ham is a local derby, do you know how important this game is?
I was made very aware of it last year. I know what it means. An important game. Last year we played really well but didn’t win at home. Tale of that part of our season a little bit. Challenging game. They have some fantastic players in the team and a new manager. They are doing things a little bit differently.
We saw last game what a threat they can be going forward. A good challenge for us. But the emphasis has to be on us reproducing the form we’ve shown in recent times and more importantly sticking to principles of our game.
Julen Lopetegui was singing your praises yesterday, what do you think of him?
You have to look at the positions he’s held and that gives you an idea of how highly he’s regarded and impact he has made. You don’t become the manager of Spain or Real [Madrid] or the jobs he’s held. I’m always interested when managers come in and try take a club in a new direction.
Obviously they are trying to play a little differently. It’s not easy to do. I’m always intrigued by managers taking that path. He’s a top quality coach. He’s starting to build the team he wants at West Ham and it’ll be exciting for the supporters.
Will new West Ham suit you?
No, not necessarily. It is a different approach but most of the personnel is still there from when you look at last year and the line ups they’ve had the last two or three weeks. That emphasis from last year. They are a big side, a physical side with real speed on the wings.
There isn’t a style that suits us or doesn’t suit us. When we play well we can play well against most systems and styles as we’ve shown. And if we don’t stick to our principles we can struggle against anybody. More important for us is how we approach things.
Surprised FA couldn’t find a top English coach?
No. They obviously looked for someone to replace Gareth, who did an unbelievable job. Like most things they probably canvassed who was the most appropriate for the role now. There are some very good English coaches around. National team jobs it’s not always straightforward. It’s about timing sometimes. I found that when I became Australian national team boss. It was a good time for them and a good time for me. I was doing well and I could get out of where I was.
That’s not always the case. Sometimes things have to align but they have a fantastic manager in Thomas with an outstanding record, particularly in knockout football. He’s highly respected and a great group of players at the moment who are just beginning to emerge on a global basis. Exciting appointment.
Having done international football already, is there more scrutiny on a manager at international level or club level?
I get there is a lot more scrutiny in the England national team's manager role absolutely, probably more than any other role in the football universe I'd say. It's funny how there is this clamour for an English manager but I'm not sure you guys have treated English managers really kindly in the past. It's not like they get extra support by being English and managing their national team just looking at the history and again I'm looking at it from afar.
Whenever an Englishman does take this role, and I certainly felt it as manager of Australia, there is a greater weight on your shoulders because it is your nation and you're always going to live there. It's not like sometimes with the foreigners that they can do the job and it's not going great they can go back and live where they live and they don't have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis. There is a greater weight of responsibility when it is your own national team and I really believe that, in particular the England national team.
It is something that the people who make these appointments are wary of, it's not just about coaching and it's how you deal with all these other things that are attached to the England national team job. Sometimes the foreign coaches don't have to deal with it as much as an English manager would. There is a real challenge there but like I said they've got an outstanding manager in Thomas and I think the key thing irrespective is that they have a fantastic generation of players coming through. I'd be excited if I was an England football supporter.
There has been a lot of talk about the calibre of English football coaches, what do you think of that? Do you think that English coaches are of the highest calibre and what are the barriers for them?
There are absolutely. In the Premier League you look a Eddie [Howe] and guys like Steve Cooper, who did a great job with the England underage teams which is always a good indicator about international football. There are fantastic English managers there but I've never looked at a coaches nationality as it doesn't really interest me.
It's about how they work and how passionate they are about what they do. It's a tough job and it's how they deal with things and I think part of the growth comes from being open and allowing different types of cultures and nationalities into your game. I don't think the Premier League would be the best competition in the world if it was restricted in terms of the access.
We've got some fantastic managers which I think helps the game grow here and I don't think it necessarily should stunt the growth of English managers. It certainly hasn't stunted the growth of English players because you're getting some of the best English players coming through. And I don't think it should stunt the growth of English managers, either. If anything, hopefully it raises their levels and ambitions and challenges them even more.
I've always subscribed to the theory that you pitch it to the highest common denominator and get everyone to climb to that, rather than bring things down to create opportunities for someone.
Should managers go overseas?
I certainly subscribe to that theory because it allows you to grow. Sometimes when you've had a siloed journey of the same kind of culture and football, for there to be growth you really have to go out and discover it yourself. Whereas when you manage overseas... There's been great examples. Sir Bobby Robson did it, Terry Venables did it, Roy Hodgson did it, Graham Potter's done it, and they're all world-class coaches. So there is some merit in it and it's not easy.
Sometimes there's a fear that if you do go overseas, you get lost in the system here. Whereas if you stay in the system eventually you'll get [recognised]. But I always think part of growth as a manager is to experience as many different things as possible and coaching abroad certainly does that.
Can you talk to use about Djed Spence's journey as he has signed a new deal...
I said a couple of days ago and consistently say, most of a players future is in their own hands. They're as much in control as anyone else. I think sometimes footballers forget that. With Djed, it could have been easy for to go out on loan again. But when he came into pre-season, he was determined to make a career for himself here at Tottenham rather than wait to be loaned out.
He did everything right in training, his attitude was great. He's a good footballer, I think the way we play suits him and he's knuckled down to that. And he's earned himself a spot on the roster in our squad.
The rest is up to him again. Because it's an easy decision for me to make when I see that. Like I said, sometimes footballers think their fate is in other peoples' hands. For the most part, it's in their own. If they're doing well and doing everything right, the future tends to take care of itself, whether that's where you currently are or you move on. And Djed's certainly done that.
Not a single long goal-kick this season, why is that?
We might have played one or two longer but I won't second guess your research. It's part of the way we want to play our football. The shorter pass means you're going to start off with possession. We don't want to give away possession. The kind of team we are, we want to set things up so we have control of the game and the shorter pass guarantees that and from there you move your way forward.
A big part of our build up play is to manipulate oppositions as much as we can as we move up the park rather than go long to a contested ball and hope we get the second ball. We're just not that kind of team. But within that context, there's enough variety there that we still make it difficult for teams to stop us from achieving that.
How is the fitness of the internationals, Romero played on Wednesday night, is he and others all good?
He's okay. We've got everyone back and the last one was Cristian, Pape and Biss. They are all good and reported well. We've got the early kick-off, so that's a quick turnaround but we trained this morning and they were all fine. Lucas Bergvall picked up a small knock but he trained as well so he has no problem. In terms of the internationals, everyone is available.
What have you done differently with Richarlison this time after latest injury lay-off?
We've taken our time with him but it hasn't been just about him recuperating and recovering from the injury. We've tried to use it to build his fitness base up so when he comes back and to be fair to him, he's worked awfully hard. He has trimmed down, he looks really lean now and has worked really hard.
We've tried to use it almost as a pre-season for him on an individual basis to not just get him to recover from his injury because he probably recovered from his injury a couple of weeks ago, but we've used the last couple of weeks to get his fitness base up and him into good physical condition so we don't have to keep going through this cycle of him coming back and breaking down.
Like I said, to be fair to him he's worked really hard and he's looked really good. He's had a good week of training and he has missed playing. He is a real infectious guy as well so good to have him back with the group.
Has Cuti Romero hit the levels you want this season or is he still working his way to his best after a busy summer with Argentina?
I think Cuti has been and again probably reflective of our season, he's had some good moments for us and some disappointing moments for him, which I know he hasn't been happy about himself, but it is tough. We've spoken about the schedules and it is funny how the guys who didn't have international commitments, not that there were many of them, they look really refreshed and ready to go. Not just for us but in football in general.
The amount of travel and amount of games, because he always play Cuti does, we have to bare that in mind and it's something the players need to learn to cope with the best they can, but he's still really important for us. He's an outstanding defender, a great leader in our group and still contributing.
Spursy tag doing the rounds after Brighton with Premier League stat of taking a two-goal lead 10 times and letting it slip, players better to embrace it or block it out?
Mate, it's irrelevant. Who cares? It doesn't matter. You say it's 10 times but it hasn't been 10 times with me so give me a break. Let me get to 10 and then start putting tags on but you have to accept that right? People will always find easy kind of ways to if you've got a wound, to stick their finger in that wound and if you're not prepared to accept that when things haven't gone well, well makes sure things go well!
There is one way to change that. If we want to change the perception of ourselves, it will not come because of, 'please don't call us those names,' it will come because we're proving we're a team that can be relentless in our approach and be successful.
How is Sonny after these two weeks?
Yeah Sonny is good. He's worked hard these two weeks. He was obviously very disappointed to miss playing for his national team, but I think it's been good for him these two weeks. He's worked really hard, had a good solid training week and yeah he can't wait to get back out there. He's good to go.
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