Daily Record

The 59-year-old ex Celtic boss has led the Londoners to the final of UEFA's second tier competition

Ange Postecoglou was known for his inspirational speeches during his trophy-laden two seasons as Celtic boss.

And the Australian showed he hasn't lost his touch when it comes to addressing his players after reaching the Europa League final with Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou spent two years in Glasgow before moving to north London and is just 90 minutes away from leading the club to their first silverware in 17 years after setting up a showdown with English Premier League rivals Manchester United in Bilbao.

And the club shared a clip on their social media channel of the 59-year-old delivering an emotional speech to his jubilant squad following a 2-0 win away to Bodo/Glimt which sealed a 5-1 semi-final aggregate romp.

Postecolgou said: "I've said it before. What you, as a group, players and staff, have gone through this year. I've been in this game a long time, I've experienced it all.

"But I'm so proud how all of you have stuck together. Not one time have I felt people aren't believing or have lost what we have in here. It's just outstanding.

"There are people who aren't with us today and are back home. Fraser [Forster] has played a big part. Sonny [Son Heung-min], Madders [James Maddison], Lucas [Lucas Bergvall], Radu [Radu Dragusin].

"They've all played a big part and everyone has contributed. That's the main thing that's got us to this point. We've had problems for sure, but we've stuck together. You deserve it.

"Now we have just under two weeks to prepare. Every day is important. Every day, every training session, every game we have between now and then is about getting ready for that big game.

"You can change things. 400 supporters here today, they will never forget it. And there's thousands back home. You can make something really special.

"I keep saying to you, 'this is the group of players that are going to do it.' Focus on that for now, you deserve all the credit. You've been outstanding. Tomorrow we focus, but tonight we enjoy it."

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The Spurs boss is just 90 minutes away from etching his name into the history books

Ange Postecoglou is just 90 minutes from immortality after Tottenham sailed into the Europa League Final.

The straight-talking Aussie made a rod for his own back by boldly reminding critics that he ALWAYS wins trophies in his second season.

Having crashed out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, Postecoglou's last hope of silverware was getting his hands on the Europa League.

Now, the ex-Celtic boss - who will reportedly be axed irrespective of whether he's on the podium in Bilbao - is one game away from delivering on his promise.

There's no getting away from the fact that it has been a wretched campaign for Spurs, who are currently the fifth-worst team in the Premier League, having lost a staggering NINETEEN top-flight fixtures.

But Postecoglou could revive his reputation down south by going from the villain to the hero who ended the North London club's dire 16-year trophyless hoodoo.

Tottenham planted one foot in the May 21 final with a dominant 3-1 home win over dark horses Bodø/Glimt last week.

But as the English media were at pains to point out, Postecoglou tasted defeat in his last visit to the Arctic Circle with Celtic three years ago - crashing out of the Europa Conference League 5-1 on aggregate.

Postecoglou buried that curse on Thursday night as second-half goals from Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro at the 8,000-seater Aspymyra Stadion put the tie to bed and set up a titanic showdown with rivals Manchester United in under a fortnight's time.

Whether it's too little, too late to spare Postecoglou from the sack remains to be seen.

But the 59-year-old's name will be etched in Tottenham's history books if he can emerge victorious in the mouthwatering all-English final.

Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.

You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.

Ange Postecoglou has endured a difficult time since making the switch from Celtic to Tottenham Hotspur in 2023, with the club sitting 15th in the Premier League

Ange Postecoglou admitted leaving Celtic for Tottenham was a "tough decision", as his time in north London has been difficult.

The experienced manager graced the Scottish Premiership with Celtic from 2021 to 2023, securing two league titles and three domestic cups, before switching allegiance to Tottenham in a four-year deal. During his introductory press conference as Spurs' head coach, Postecoglou said: "We had some fantastic success and great moments within that, and I'll cherish them, but I am the kind of guy who always loves a challenge - I love a build, I love a rebuild.

"That's where I feel I am at my best and this challenge, when it came along, I just thought had all the elements of what I need to get going again." Explaining why he decided to jump ship after Scottish success, he told the Irish Examiner: "I came to this club with a clear purpose and vision of what the club needed and what I could offer.

"That is to change the way the team plays, to obviously rejuvenate the squad because it was a squad that was coming towards the end of a cycle and to bring success." Despite ambitions, Postecoglou's tenure at Spurs has been tough, with his inaugural season concluding with a fifth-place finish in the league.

The current season has proven brutal for Postecoglou. Spurs are 15th in the Premier League, and their chances of winning any silverware rest on Europa League success. With a mere 11 victories out of 32 matches, supporters and analysts are mounting criticism, with some suggesting it might be time for Tottenham to look for a new boss.

Yet Postecoglou is steadfast in his determination to steer Spurs to success, remaining focused despite the club not having won a Premier League title since the competition began in 1992. He said: "As long as I'm in this position, that's always my focus, irrespective of whatever noise there is or what there may or may not be in the future.

"I don't see that that should diminish my burning ambition, my desire and my determination to make that happen. Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle.

"Certainly, everything I have achieved in my life has come with a struggle from a professional perspective. This is just another struggle, but never through this struggle have I lost the will to fight for what I think is the right thing to do and I'll continue to do that."

Since embarking on his managerial career in 1996 with South Melbourne, Postecoglou has garnered an impressive array of achievements, including stints overseeing Australia's U17 and U20 squads from 2000 to 2007 and subsequent positions at Panachaiki, Whittlesea Zebras, Brisbane Roar, and Melbourne Victory.

Postecoglou then took charge of the Australian national team from 2013 to 2017, clinching the AFC Asian Cup in 2015. He later managed Yokohama F Marinos, Celtic and eventually, Spurs.

The Lilywhites are due to play Eintracht Frankfurt away in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday. The two teams first clashed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Thursday, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw.

The former England international lasted just nine minutes into his Como debut

Dele Alli has broken his silence after being sent off just 10 minutes into his Serie A debut.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star responded after being blasted by Como manager Cesc Fabregas after the 2-1 defeat to AC Milan.

The ex England international's last played a competitive game 748 days ago for Turkish side Besiktas. After joining Serie A side Como in January on an 18-month contract he was given a few weeks to improve his fitness.

Alli came off the bench on the 81st minuts at San Siro and picked up a red card after raking his boots down the back of Milan midfielder and former England teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek's leg in an attmept to disposess him.

Former Spurs pal Kyle Walker plead with the referee to change his mind but Alli was sent for an early shower.

Speaking on Alli's sending off, boss Fabregas said: “It was at that moment when Milan went 2-1 up and Sergi Roberto was meant to come on, but I’d prefer to give him another two weeks to train so he can be ready to start against Empoli.

“Dele Alli is a player who can score goals, he perhaps didn’t deserve this opportunity because he has only been working with us for two weeks and has a lot to improve.

“It is a grave mistake, one that we should not see from a player of his experience. It was a clear red card, there’s nothing to be said about that, he left the team down to 10 men during a crucial moment when we were pushing for 2-2.

“That is the most negative thing about this evening, but we keep going," the former Arsenal star explained.

Later Allie responded on Instagram, with the post: "I was always going to announce my return in some way after these past 2 years, would rather it had been with a goal. But feels good to be back!"

Como's next match comes at home against Serie A rivals Empoli, with Alli to miss out altogether due to suspension.

It's been a difficult season for Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham and his players are now being told to take matters into their own hands

Wayne Rooney has urged Tottenham's players to ditch Angeball if they want to end their home woes.

A fortunate cross-shot from Pape Matar Sarr and Son Heung-min penalty rescued a point for Spurs at home to Bournemouth on March 9, but it leaves the ex Celtic boss with just one win in his last 10 home Premier League matches. And the prickly Aussie appeared to take aim at his own supporters ahead of a huge Europa League clash with AZ on March 13.

Spurs found themselves struggling to get out of their own half in the clash with the Cherries as Bournemouth's press caught out the London club time and again. However with stubborn Ange refusing to back down from his principles, Manchester United hero Rooney now believes his players need to take matters into their own hands.

The former England star was asked by Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman if he would want his players ignoring instructions during a game, and said: "100 percent, you have to give players the opportunity to make decisions. That’s football, you can set the team up however you want to set the team up, but a lot of it is players making decisions.

"The opposition analyse you, they do things to stop you playing to your strengths." Former Republic of Ireland keeper Shay Given responded: "Do you think the modern player has the freedom to do that, or is the manager more saying don’t?"

To which Rooney doubled down, adding: "I think that Ange has made it clear he wants to stick to his principles, but I think there are certain moments in games where you have to take control. Whether that’s the goalkeeper, the captain on the pitch or the manager himself.

"Someone has to take control. Because of what Bournemouth were with the press, Tottenham were so naïve and kept getting caught. We talk about game management a lot, we could clearly see that Bournemouth would get success from it and that Tottenham were struggling to play through them.

"The goalkeeper definitely has to take control, say we’re going to go long and push everybody up. Then Bournemouth might drop off and they’ve got more space to play."

Ange Postecoglou interview enrages Tottenham hero after AZ defeat - 'I wish he hadn't said that'

The ex-Celtic boss faces a huge fight to stay in the Europa League after losing their last 16 first-leg 1-0

Les Ferdinand has rubbished Ange Postecoglou's gripe about AZ Alkmaar's pitch as Tottenham crashed to defeat in the Netherlands.

Struggling Spurs have it all to do in next week's return leg in North London as a freakish own goal by Lucas Bergvall condemned them to a 1-0 loss at AFAS Stadion. Postecoglou's flops failed to register a single shot on target in the first-half and had to wait until the dying minutes to test AZ keeper Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro with a mis-hit effort.

The ex-Celtic boss must now rely on his lacklustre side overturning the Europa League last 16 first-leg defeat next Thursday to keep the club's trophy hopes alive. It's been a miserable campaign for Tottenham, who have now lost 19 games across all competitions. And former striker Ferdinand delivered an unflinching verdict after Postecoglou claimed the pitch was a factor behind his side's woeful display.

Asked why his side struggled, Postecoglou told TNT Sports: "A combination of things. It was a tricky pitch and we didn't really handle it really well tonight. But aside from that, we just weren't aggressive enough. We were way too passive. And then with the ball, too many times we were just circulating it without a real intent to hurt them."

But his remarks didn't go down well with Ferdinand, who groaned: "Yeah, I wish he hadn't said that. We're not there, so I don't know what the pitch is like. But they (AZ) seemed to play all right on it? They seemed okay on it.

"He said before the game, 'we want to be aggressive, we want to be in their faces'... we never seen any of that. He alluded to it, he said they weren't good enough. But I'm not sure I would blame the pitch for the problems that Spurs had today."

The Premier League legend also claimed Postecoglou is running out of excuses after captain Son Heung-min admitted the damaging defeat was a "wake-up call". He added: "There can't be any more excuses if they go out of this competition. They are sitting 13th in the league. This is a real bad season for Tottenham if that happens. They've got an opportunity to turn it around next week.

"They need to be ten times better than what they were tonight to be able to turn this result around. But they've got the opportunity to do that. They were nowhere near the levels they need to be at to compete in this competition. So he's correct."

Aberdeen have confirmed the signing of defender Alfie Dorrington on a loan deal for the rest of the season from Tottenham.

The 19-year-old becomes Jimmy Thelin's third signing of the January window, following the arrival of winger Jeppe Okkels on loan from Preston and the capture of Latvia captain Kristers Tobers on a permanent deal from Grasshoppers. Dorrington - who made his Spurs' debut as a substitute in the Premier League clash with Southampton last month - will now hope to pick up some valuable minutes in the Granite City to improve his chances of breaking into Ange Postecoglou's first team.

The England U-19 international gives Aberdeen some extra cover at the back with Irishman Gavin Molloy set to be out of action until May and duo Slobodan Rubezic and Angus MacDonald both struggling for form. Speaking to the club's website, Dorrington said: “It’s amazing to finally be here. Everyone has been so welcoming; it feels like home already. I know it’s a big club with a lot of history and the supporters are really passionate so it was a no brainer for me.

“As soon as I spoke to the manager and heard about what he wants to achieve here I just wanted to get up here as soon as possible. I believe the way he wants to play will suit my style and he just wants this to be the best part of my career.

“It’s my first loan so I want to start as many games as I can, work hard and I hope I can repay the faith the manager has shown in me.”

Boss Thelin added: "Alfie is a really exciting young prospect who recently made his debut for the Tottenham Hotspur first team. He has good speed, stature and good ability on the ball and his arrival will further strengthen our options at centre-back.

“We believe this will be an environment in which he can continue to grow and gain some invaluable match experience in a really competitive league.”

Action-packed Aberdeen are looking to further bolster their defence again with a loan for Alfie Dorrington.

The Dons are in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over their young centre half, who made his Premier League debut last month. The Spurs staff want to get the under-19 England international out to get first-team experience. The Scottish Premiership is a league Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou knows well from his time at Celtic and believes a move to Pittodrie would benefit his talented teenager.

Postecoglou, speaking earlier this month, said: “Alfie is training with us and he has been around the first-team squad and part of the first-team squad. He had a pretty significant injury which kept him out of football for quite a while. But he is part of the squad and he probably needs to get some game time so we will look for a loan for him.”

Dons boss Jimmy Thelin has already signed Latvian captain and centre half Kristers Tobers, who made his debut in today’s 0-0 draw with Hearts. The Dons have also agreed a £650,000 deal with Brommapojkarna for Alexander Jensen.

The deal for their versatile Danish full-back is expected to be finalised this week. Aberdeen have also signed winger Jeppe Okkels on a loan with an option to buy from Preston. Thelin has been looking to strengthen his defence with Gavin Molloy and Jack Milne out injured, while Slobodan Rubezic is currently suspended.

Fraser Forster's Tottenham future is under threat as Ange Postecoglou is set to fork out over £10m on a new shotstopper.

The former Celtic keeper has been under increasing scrutiny following a number of gaffes while deputising for injured number 1 Guglielmo Vicario. The Italian broke his ankle in the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City, and is seen as one of the major reasons for Spurs' recent drop-off, especially with how specific a role Ange Postecoglou has for his goalkeepers.

Forster's poor ability with the ball at his feet has drawn scathing criticism, including from Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. The nadir was two howlers in the 4-3 win over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-finals last month.

The club have been searching for an alternative since Vicario required ankle surgery in November after not signing a new No 2 in the summer. The club hierarchy has now given the green light to sign 21-year-old Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague. Despite breaking into the first team this season, he has drawn admirers from across Europe and is expected to cost the Premier League club around £12.5m.

Kinski is represented by Sport Invest, who Petr Cech has worked with, and are seen in the industry as adept in eyeing the best Czech goalkeepers. Kinski is the son of Antonin Kinsky, who was Cech's own No 2 in the country's run to the Euro 2004 semi-finals. Czech media have meanwhile been reporting that a deal with Spurs for Kinsky is already struck.

Ange Postecoglou has been blasted as 'naive' by a former Premier League star, who doesn't believe the Tottenham boss can get away with his gung-ho style of football much longer.

The Aussie takes his Spurs side to Ibrox to face Rangers in the Europa League tonight off the back of just one win in the last seven games in all competitions, with his team throwing away a 2-0 lead in a dismal 4-2 defeat to London rivals Chelsea last Sunday. Spurs have kept just five clean sheets in 22 games on all fronts so far this season and are currently seven points adrift of the Champions League places.

And ex Liverpool, Aston Villa and England star Stan Collymore has branded the under-fire former Celtic gaffer's preference for front-foot attacking football over defensive stability as 'gross naivety'. He told CaughtOffside: "I’ve got a soft spot for Ange Postecoglou and for anybody that wants to play football on the front foot, attacking, creating chances, scoring goals… because that’s the type of player that I was.

"He’s managed in Japan, he’s managed in Scotland, however the Premier League is unforgiving. You can’t win a title in the English top-flight without having a real cast-iron defence. Leicester proved you can do it without scoring bucket loads of goals, but it’s telling that only the bottom three in the Premier League have a worse goal difference than Spurs at the moment.

"A couple of weeks ago, Tottenham were the highest scorers in the division, so there’s something structurally, fundamentally wrong at the club. This isn’t just a blip. This is a team that can score goals and create chances, but whatever they do, they can’t keep it out at the other end. I think it’s gross naivety, and the last time a team played like this was in the late 90s when I was playing; Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle.

"The ‘they’ll score three but we’ll score four’ way of playing is all well and good in the lovely days of August, September and October when everybody’s flying, everybody’s fit, everybody’s healthy, but when you start to take international breaks, FA Cup ties, League Cup ties, European commitments, injuries, suspensions and poor form into account, Spurs are not going to get away with it."