TOTTENHAM APPOINT FORMER CELTIC BOSS ANGE POSTECOGLOU AS NEW HEAD COACH
Tottenham Hotspur Football have appointed former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou as their new head coach, the club announced on Tuesday morning.
Postecoglou joins Tottenham on a four-year deal, starting July 1st and is expected to be with the club through the 2026/27 season. Spurs said in a statement that they will announce Postecoglouās new coaching staff in due time. The Australian manager is famously known for not usually bringing his own staff to every new job and is expected to go staff hunting again at Tottenham.
A statement from Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy about Postecoglou read: āAnge brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play. He has a strong track record of developing players and understands the importance of the link from the academy ā everything that is important to our club. We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead.ā
One of the top candidates for the job at Spurs after Antonio Conteās departure in March, Postecoglou arrives in London after a two-year stint in Glasgow with 53-time Scottish champions, Celtic, whom he won the domestic treble with this past season. Postecoglou downplayed all links to the Spurs job last week choosing to instead focus on Celticās chances in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday this past weekend.
Tottenham have been on the market for a quality head coach over the past two months and had appointed Conteās assistant Christian Stellini as interim head coach in April. The club, however, ended up firing him after just four games in charge and appointed 31-year-old Ryan Mason as his short-term replacement.
Although Mason had publicly stated his interest in taking the head coaching job on a permanent basis, Spurs focused their search on more experienced external candidates and held talks with former Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann, former Spain and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, and most recently, Feyenoord Rotterdamās head coach Arne Slot.
Talks between Tottenham and all three managers hit a wall and Slot announced last week that he was indeed not joining Spurs. The 44-year-old head coach instead ended up signing a new deal with the Dutch club only days after Feyenoordās general manager Dennis te Kloese told Dutch media that he had rejected an offer to become Tottenhamās sporting director, a spot that Daniel Levy & Co. are still looking to fill after Fabio Paratici stepped down in late March.
With Spursā open managerial position now filled, the club can now look forward to building a squad fit to Postecoglouās liking. At 57 years of age, Ange Postecoglou is definitely looking to make a name for himself. Known for his free-scoring sides at both club level and international level, the two-time PFA Scotland Manager of the Year is expected to implement his attacking style of football in North London.
āItās time for Spurs to have someone whoās really committed and capable of bringing attacking football to life,ā former Australian international Craig Foster told Sky Sports News on Tuesday. āAnd that is demonstrably Ange Postecoglou. Heās done it here with the Australian national team and in club football where he set records. He has the competencies, the methodology and he clearly has the experience to take on now one of the Premier Leagueās āBig Sixā clubs.ā
While having proven goal threats at Spursā like English international Harry Kane and South Korean captain Heung Min Son will help Angeās chances of bringing attacking football back to the Lilywhites, Postecoglou will have his work cut out for him on the defensive side of things as well. Tottenham conceded a whopping 63 goals in the Premier League this season, the sixth-most in the league and had to rely on Harry Kaneās 30 goals in the league this campaign to finish in the top half of the table.
The Football Australia Hall of Fame inductee has proven at each stage of his managerial career that he can manage a squad at the next level, making step-by-step transitions from the Australian A-league to managing the Australian national team to making the transition to Japanās J-league before landing in Scotland with the Celtics in the summer of 2021. Postecoglou won five of the six trophies available since joining Celtic and is expected to turn the fortunes at Tottenham, who are currently on a 15-year trophy drought.
Ā Ā Ā A student of the game, Postecoglou is a breath of fresh air at Tottenham Hotspur, especially after a four-year-period in which the club has made six managerial changes and fallen from their 2019 grace of appearing at the pinnacle of European football in the 2018/19 Champions League final. Certainly an intelligent and experienced head coach, Spurs fans will be optimistic that Postecoglou can build something at Tottenham, if indeed heās given the time and resources to do so.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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