Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou previews their Premier League clash with Brentford
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00:00 I did, James.
00:01 Good afternoon, Ang.
00:02 Just to start with, team news, is there any issues going into this one?
00:06 Nothing, no change from the last game.
00:09 So, everyone got through it okay and the guys who are out still, yeah, not available.
00:16 How did James Madison come through his 20 minutes?
00:19 Yeah, he was okay, he was fine.
00:20 Yeah, I mean, probably could have, you know, got him a little bit more game time,
00:25 but the way the game was going, I kind of put him on probably a little bit later
00:29 than he probably would have wanted me to.
00:32 But he got through it okay, he's trained well, so he's ready to go.
00:36 Is he pushing for a start tomorrow?
00:38 Well, we'll see.
00:39 I mean, look, we've obviously got three games this week,
00:42 for Friday and tonight and Saturday, so there'll definitely be some changes.
00:46 It's just about sort of balancing up, you know, who starts
00:50 and who's going to be best equipped for tomorrow night.
00:52 And just on the team news front, with Papisar now out of the Africa Cup Nations,
00:57 do you know when he could be returning?
01:00 The latest I heard is he should be back tomorrow at some stage.
01:05 So, you know, disappointed for him because, you know, obviously Senegal were kind of,
01:10 you know, had a real ambition to win the competition.
01:13 But he did well for him again, he's a key member.
01:16 And from our side, it'd be good to get him back
01:19 and should be fine for Saturday after arrival.
01:23 And two days left of the transfer window.
01:26 Got to ask you, do you think there'll be any more incomings, any players going out at all?
01:32 We've seen a few links from younger players last couple of days as well.
01:36 Look, unlikely, I'd say.
01:41 Yeah, I don't see any incomings.
01:43 Outgoing's a little bit different because I'm not sort of totally engaged with that.
01:48 Other people are doing the work around that.
01:51 But I'd say unlikely on both fronts without ruling anything out.
01:56 And finally for me, I know we haven't really had a chance to hear from you about Jurgen Klopp
02:01 leaving Liverpool.
02:02 I just wanted to get your thoughts on that and to follow up on that.
02:06 For yourself, someone who's been managing since, was it '96 I think you started,
02:11 what's been the key to your longevity?
02:13 What do you do to protect your mental wellbeing in such a high pressure job?
02:19 People question my mental wellbeing, that's why I'm in trouble.
02:23 In terms of Jurgen, I didn't answer the other night, which was probably the kind of mental state
02:30 I was in after the game, which to be fair is probably a bit poor on me.
02:36 I should be able to look past that.
02:37 But anyway, he's obviously a shock to everyone in terms of you see what he's building again.
02:47 He's rebuilt his side again and they look like they're going to be a force.
02:52 He's just been such an integral part of rebuilding our football club back to the heights it was before.
03:02 It's a credit to him and all his staff, especially to him, because to go into a big football club
03:12 and rebuild it to the stature it used to be is not an easy task and he's done that.
03:19 It is hard these days to stay at one club for a long time.
03:23 I think that's a tough one when you ask me about my longevity.
03:27 I think part of that process for me has been moving on after three or four years or two years.
03:36 I've mostly done it after success, but I know how hard it is to rebuild after you've done that.
03:43 I found for me it was always better that I move on at the time.
03:47 That's how I felt.
03:48 I can see how when you stay at one club and you need to do one or two, maybe a third rebuild, it can be taxing.
03:56 Like I said, he's done it.
03:58 He's an unbelievable manager.
04:00 He's left an indelible mark.
04:02 I'm sure there's more to come.
04:03 I'm interested to see how long the sabbatical lasts.
04:07 I'm kind of hoping it lasts for a while because it gives me hope that when I do,
04:12 because I have those thoughts in my mind often, I've got a sense it just drags us back in.
04:18 But I hope he does have the break that I think he deserves.
04:23 Hi, Ant.
04:24 Good afternoon.
04:25 Hey, g'day mate.
04:26 Brent, for the way, back in August was your first time managing Spurs in the Premier League.
04:31 Nearly six months gone.
04:33 Is it fair to say that the team is reaching what you expected them at this stage,
04:37 or probably even more based on the changes in the summer?
04:42 Look, I think the other night kind of gives us a sense of where we're at a little bit in terms of our destination.
04:53 But in terms of our starting point, I think it's fair to say I really believe we have made progress.
05:00 Both with the squad and with our football.
05:04 The results are sort of slowly inching that way as well.
05:09 So I think that's the key thing for me, is that if we continue to make progress
05:14 and continue to develop as a team, we keep developing our players.
05:19 And for us, then that destination point, which like I said the other night, showed that we're a fair way off that.
05:29 At least there's belief in us that we can bridge that gap at some point.
05:35 So I definitely think there's been progress, but I also know there's a long way to go.
05:41 Brent, for tomorrow at home, we saw Ivan Toni's performance against Forrest recently.
05:45 How impressed have you been with his performance,
05:47 especially after the fact he hasn't played a competitive game for so long?
05:51 Yeah, look, I think he's a fantastic player.
05:56 You can see just how important he is to Brentford. He changes that team almost overnight.
06:00 They've obviously been going through a rough trot in terms of results in recent times.
06:06 And they've had their own share of injuries.
06:08 But as soon as he comes into that team, he just gives them a different look,
06:12 not just as a player, but in terms of his presence.
06:14 And I thought you could sense that straight away.
06:18 And as you said, credit to him after being out a long time.
06:23 Obviously he's not coming back from injury, so that's a little bit different.
06:27 I assume he's working pretty hard at training, and I think that shows.
06:31 But it definitely makes a difference to Brentford, as it would I think with most sides,
06:36 but particularly to them because so much of their attacking threat revolves around him.
06:42 Even if there won't be any further new additions in this transfer window,
06:46 what is it that encourages you the most when it comes to your current team, your current squad?
06:51 Just the progress the players are making.
06:57 I've just seen real growth in a lot of our players, even from that first game.
07:03 They're really developing. They're getting challenged every week.
07:10 I look at them and I just see so much more growth in them.
07:13 When I talk about Friday night was a reminder of the gap between us and the very best.
07:19 I think we can bridge some of that gap with the players we have here, if they continue to develop.
07:23 I can see them in the next couple of years really developing into top footballers.
07:31 I think that's the most encouraging thing for me.
07:34 I've seen growth, but I see so much more growth in the bulk of our squad.
07:40 Hi Ange, how are you?
07:41 Good, mate.
07:42 You mentioned that gap and you mentioned earlier you're some way off the destination at the end of the journey.
07:49 How encouraged are you that you're actually on track for that?
07:52 I mean, at the beginning of the season, would you have said after six months,
07:55 obviously you'd still rather be in both cups, but the position you're in now is where you expected to be.
08:02 I think I've said it a few times, I don't have expectations.
08:06 I certainly don't have a timeline for these things.
08:09 I'm more just, am I seeing progress, am I seeing growth?
08:15 I believe that we have, both as I said, the playing group, but also our football.
08:23 It's constantly developing.
08:26 That doesn't change after Friday night, but at the same time, we need to understand that nothing stands still.
08:37 It's not about trying to catch a stationary target.
08:42 Other teams improve, Man City will improve.
08:47 It's not just about trying to hit a certain point, it's constant improvement.
08:53 If you don't accelerate that growth, it can always be too far away from your head of reach.
09:00 We've got to make sure that we stay really disciplined in continuing to push our players and push ourselves to try and bridge that gap as quickly as possible.
09:13 I know in your career it's rare you go a season without winning a trophy, which will probably happen this year, but is top four now for you success?
09:21 So we can't win the league?
09:23 No, no, I didn't say that.
09:24 Well, you did.
09:25 Well, I said it possibly.
09:27 That's fine, that's okay, you're allowed to say that.
09:30 Don't worry about it, it's fine.
09:33 You're allowed to say it, don't worry.
09:36 You don't think we're going to win the league, that's fine.
09:38 Just be strong on that, that's all right.
09:41 I understand that, and I get the question.
09:44 Look, it's disappointing that we're out of both cup competitions, particularly with not being in Europe,
09:49 because obviously I kind of addressed it before the game that our supporters really kind of crying out for some sort of success for them to experience at this football club.
10:02 But as I said, I can't let that guide my course, and this year is still about us, like I said, growing as a team, finishing the second half of the year stronger than we did the first.
10:13 If we do that, then we'll be in a good position, I think, to continue to challenge and push this team along.
10:21 That's our focus, as much as obviously there's disappointment there that we're out of another cup.
10:29 But there's also a real sort of reminder to us that if we want to, as I said before the game, it's not just about winning one trophy.
10:40 If we're going to compete at that level or the level we want to, then we've still got a lot of work to do.
10:46 Finally, just going back to Jürgen Klopp, football managers always say that it's a drug, they can never walk away, they can never leave it.
10:55 That's why we see people like David Moyes at 60, Roy Hodgson in his mid-70s still managing in the Premier League, because they can't ever stop.
11:03 Do you in a way admire Jürgen for thinking, "Right, my energy levels are low, what have you, and therefore I want to take a break, I want to walk away"?
11:11 I'll admire him if he sticks to it. If I see him pop up at six months' time somewhere else, I understand it.
11:20 To be honest, I know people kind of look for reasons. I don't need another reason apart from what he said, that he feels like he's running out.
11:28 I totally understand that. Like I said, I know how hard it would be and people would underestimate it.
11:34 Obviously, I love the role of rebuilding sides, going in and building your team, but rebuilds within an actual football club are really, really challenging.
11:45 You invariably get the same questions you got the first time and you think, "I've already done it, why do I have to explain myself again?"
11:53 But you have to explain yourself again. It's why I don't think managers stay too long at one club these days.
12:00 It's kind of rare that they will. I can totally understand it. Credit to him that he recognised that, because I don't think anyone would have questioned if he stayed on for as long as he wanted to.
12:12 I think he's got standards he's set. He's certainly set the highest possible standard. I think he knows that we all know that unless you're all in, you can't maintain that.
12:28 So it's a credit to him he's made that decision.
12:30 On the personal front, you always mentioned about moving your family around, not having one particular house.
12:36 You're always moving, having things in boxes. That must be the most difficult bit, I would have thought.
12:41 It's just a different challenge. That isn't always by choice. If I'd have moved four different clubs in the UK, we might have had a house.
12:53 We're living out of boxes, but we've moved around the world so it's a bit different.
12:58 I think it's just different for every manager, the way they do all these things.
13:03 Along those same lines, this three, four year pattern that you've had in your career, is that something that would put you off changing that pattern because of the constant need to rebuild within a club constantly?
13:16 I don't know. You just addressed those things. Ultimately it just goes with how you feel at the time. That's what I've always done.
13:24 If I felt that it was time for me to move because there was another challenge that I'd really like and enjoy, I've made that decision.
13:32 I haven't based any decision I've made in my career around security or contracts because I've probably left secure positions for unsecure positions because that's how I am as a person.
13:46 I know that's when I work my best, but whether that changes over time, I don't know.
13:51 I've never pre-empted that stuff or put any timelines to it. It could be two years, three years, four years, it could be longer than that.
13:59 I've always moved when I felt that there was another challenge there that I thought would be a best fit for me.
14:06 On your squad, obviously three games in eight days. Romero and van der Ven haven't played a lot of football in the last few weeks. Could we see Radu Dregic make his full debut across this week at some point?
14:17 I don't know. What we're going to try and do is win these two games. I'm going to put teams out there that I think will win the games.
14:25 That's always my focus. It's not about trying to pre-empt things about whether one plays or doesn't play.
14:34 We'll put out a team tomorrow night that we believe can win us a game of football and then I'll address that after that and see what we need to do for Saturday.
14:42 Manas Solomon, where's he at in his stage of coming back? Has he done any training?
14:47 He's had a couple of goes at it but it's fair to say he's had a couple of setbacks. He had one this week as well. He's getting further investigation on it early next week.
14:57 I just wanted to ask you, you talked about in the summer how it was quite an unusual window, no sporting director. How different has it been this time around with the new structure that's in place?
15:13 It's been a little bit different in that I think I've been less involved than I probably was in the summer.
15:21 It's good. Obviously this window is a little bit trickier because I have games and in the summer there's no games so I can put my energy into that sort of thing.
15:37 Obviously we've had games with Johan there and his group of people working alongside him. It's just meant I've had less involvement in a lot of the preliminary stuff.
15:52 My role is to stay specific now to what it should be around the final decision.
15:58 Now, obviously that was quite unique but this system, how does that compare with your other clubs? Is it fairly similar? Are there big differences?
16:07 Everyone works differently. Johan works differently to others. I've always found that as long as you're working with good people and we're all aligned, irrespective of the set up, you can usually get good outcomes.
16:23 The one non-negotiable for me is I get final say. That's the only thing I can't insist on irrespective of.
16:28 Only because I believe that the responsibility should lie with me as to that decision because I'm the one that's going to put the final decision into the place it needs to be.
16:42 Aside from that, they all work differently. I've enjoyed working with Johan. Obviously he's first window on his team. I'm sure going into summer we'll all be in a real good place to make sure that we try and take advantage of the fact that we can make our squad and our team stronger for what's ahead.
17:02 You mentioned there about the challenge of a rebuild is that you're having to do the same things and answer the same questions. How hard is it as a manager when things that may have worked really well in one place suddenly aren't working so well and you have to adapt?
17:15 But a part of you is saying, "But this has worked before. You adapt to me."
17:21 I'm not really sure. It hasn't happened to me. The constants I've taken with me in terms of rebuilds are still there. I still think there are certain fundamentals that do work.
17:34 It's more about trying to convince people within the organisation that this is the way to go. When you go into a new place, there may be people who have been there for quite a while, who have probably seen four or five of me come along with new ideas.
17:55 Rightly so, they may be a bit sceptical or reluctant. It's about trying to get everyone on board with your ideas as much as whether it works or not. I have no doubt it works. I know it will only work if everyone is aligned to it.
18:13 Okay we'll end the broadcast section there and move on to the embargoed section starting