Tottenham Manager Ange Postecoglou is confident everything he is planning will come to fruition and how he kept Tel on the phone and wore him down
05/02/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
05/02/2025
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00Just throw another young player out there at the moment.
00:02I know the context is very, very different with Matthijs,
00:05but he is still 19.
00:07So I guess, do we have to kind of temper expectations a little bit with him,
00:10given his age?
00:14Well, what is it? Apples and oranges or apples and...
00:17I mean, we're talking totally different worlds.
00:20I mean...
00:21He's still 19.
00:22Yeah, but he's played in the Bundesliga for, you know,
00:25almost a season and a half.
00:27If Yang came from the K League,
00:30which is no disrespect, the K League is a hell of a jump.
00:34I mean, in terms of the age, yeah, maybe you're right in terms of tempering,
00:39but we've got younger players in the team.
00:42It's not just about age.
00:44We've got Archie and Lucas are 18, Mikey's 17.
00:48So I kind of...
00:51I always kind of dismiss the age factor.
00:53To me, it's more about their maturity as a person and their experience.
00:59And, you know, you can get two wildly different sort of beasts
01:04in terms of two 19-year-olds
01:06who maybe both have the capability of making it at this level,
01:09but in terms of where they are in their career,
01:12it could be miles apart.
01:13And I think Matthijs is a totally different sort of thing for us
01:18and our expectations around him.
01:21Look, I would expect him to play a significant part.
01:26He will play a significant part in our sort of end of season for sure and beyond.
01:30And I expect him, you know, I know he wants to make an impact
01:34and I'd be expecting him to do that.
01:36You said beyond.
01:38There's sort of some confusion, I think, coming from Germany
01:41about the nature of his option.
01:42If the club decides to set that up,
01:44is your kind of understanding that he will be a top player next season?
01:47He'll be a top player, yeah.
01:50Yeah, he'll be a top player.
01:52He'll do, I think he'll show everyone
01:54he's going to be a top player in the next six months.
01:56I didn't bring him here for six months.
01:59And I'm intrigued by the powers of your persuasion.
02:05Do you have a special phone?
02:09So your dealings with me over the last 18 months
02:12haven't convinced you of me having your powers?
02:15No, thank you.
02:17I think there's a kind of smooth off break on the phone.
02:19I've obviously gone completely wrong.
02:22Well, I think there's something to be said for honesty and integrity
02:28and as much action speaking louder than words,
02:34I think I've got a pretty compelling story to tell
02:37because I think when I speak to players,
02:41I'm not trying to sell anything
02:44that there isn't plenty of evidence for, you know.
02:48So, yeah, you know, I think most players,
02:53I think that's where they get sort of comfort more than anything else
02:57because I don't think it's about smooth talking
02:59or about, like I said, selling or, you know,
03:02I think there's a real good story here which I really believe in
03:08and I speak from a real sort of strong conviction
03:16that what I'm saying will come to fruition.
03:21You know, I really believe that.
03:22So I don't think I need to sort of do anything special now.
03:28You know, it doesn't always.
03:29I mean, you're hearing the success stories.
03:30There's plenty of people who...
03:33Yeah, it hasn't worked out.
03:36Yeah, plenty.
03:37There's been a couple this window.
03:38Yeah, which, you know, you know straight away there's a disconnect.
03:42It's not going to work because what I'm saying
03:44and the questions they're asking,
03:45well, you know, we're on a different sort of page
03:47and that's not criticism there
03:49because, you know, people look for different things.
03:51So you're looking for some, you know, something that resonates.
03:54So, yeah, that's right.
03:56Like I said, I don't have a...
03:59I definitely don't have a 100% hit rate, that's for sure.
04:02But I think that's part of it as well.
04:04I think, you know, I kind of get comfort from that too.
04:08When I walk away and I'm thinking,
04:09gee, he's a good player,
04:10but I don't think he's going to be a good fit, you know.
04:12So it's probably not a good idea for him
04:14and it's not a good idea for us.
04:15So it works out either way.
04:17Do you have these calls with all players
04:20or is it in certain situations you get drafted in?
04:23Yeah, I don't.
04:25Look, I don't like having conversations
04:27unless I think there's a real sort of interest there from both sides.
04:33Like, I just don't want to...
04:35I think it ends up, well, I waste my time
04:37and, you know, unless we're really convinced about someone
04:40and we feel like there's some sort of interest coming the other way,
04:43then I'm not going to get involved.
04:45Maybe if you get involved until kind of everything else
04:48has sort of been sorted out around sort of, you know,
04:51financials and all that kind of stuff,
04:52then I know, OK, well, this is kind of the final box we need to tick
04:56and then they'll kind of wheel me out then.
05:01Are you comfortable, are you fully behind this idea
05:03that Spurs are building a team for the future?
05:06You're playing 19, 18, 21-year-olds.
05:09It doesn't normally fit with the short-termism of modern management,
05:13but do you have to be convinced or are you...
05:15No, no, I haven't been...
05:16I mean, I've been a sort of big driver of it, you know.
05:19I really feel like, you know, when I took over,
05:23that you need to rebuild a team, rebuild a squad.
05:26This wasn't tinkering around the edges.
05:28I've said that all along.
05:29So, and you need...
05:31If you're going to do that, invariably you've got to go young
05:35and allow them to grow and develop together.
05:37And, you know, we had some experience here,
05:40which has helped us, obviously.
05:41And I think signing Dom was an important part of that.
05:46Kevin, to a certain extent,
05:47because he's kind of, you know, a little bit more experienced.
05:51But, you know, that doesn't, you know, again,
05:54that doesn't mean I'll see the fruits of that labour.
05:57You're right, that's the nature of it.
05:59But I've said from day one,
06:01I'll always make decisions that I believe are best for the football club
06:03and best for what I think is going to bring success to the football club.
06:06That's the way I've worked.
06:07And, you know, from my perspective,
06:11all these decisions are, you know,
06:13I'm as much a driver of as the club.
06:15I haven't sort of...
06:17No one's been thrusted upon me that I think,
06:18oh, you know, it's not someone who I think is going to fit.
06:22And you have no reassurances that, you know,
06:24that there's not two sides to the coin, for example,
06:26that if we go in this way,
06:27actually that makes you a bit more secure because we all...
06:30I'm not interested in security.
06:32I've said that before.
06:33It doesn't exist in the modern game
06:34because it doesn't matter what anyone tells me.
06:36Somebody could say, I enjoy right behind you and, you know,
06:39I mean, I've lost him.
06:40So, I mean, I'm down to Ali and that's about it, you know,
06:45and I'm sort of, you're OK?
06:48You're solid?
06:49Well, I've got a couple.
06:51You can talk me over on the phone.
06:52Yeah, that's true.
06:53I just got to get you on the phone.
06:55I just, I know that's not the real world, you know.
06:58Ultimately, the real world exists around,
07:00well, if I keep getting results, then I'll be OK.
07:02If I'm not, then the invariable pressure that's been on me
07:05for the last, I don't know, it feels like three, four months
07:08will still be there and there's no guarantees about anything.
07:12So, I don't worry about that.
07:13I don't care about that.
07:14I've said before, being a manager,
07:17especially in today's world, it can be so,
07:20you can feel so isolated, so vulnerable.
07:25I don't feel that.
07:26I feel like the playing group is rock solid.
07:28The staff are rock solid.
07:30I feel supported.
07:32That's all you can ask for.
07:33Where that takes us, time will tell.
07:36I firmly believe it will take us to success,
07:38but there's no guarantees of that.
07:41I understand that.
07:42If I may, one more on youthfulness.
07:44You do talk about Anfield and what you expect.
07:48Galatasaray, Ibrox, Everton,
07:50but you didn't start well in any of them.
07:53You were pretty poppy.
07:54Is that inexperience in the family that...
07:58No, no, it is part of the experience.
08:01I thought we handled, I know people say it differently,
08:04but we handled Old Trafford pretty well,
08:06which I think can be pretty intimidating.
08:11So, I think we found our moments at times,
08:13but I think those kind of things have allowed us to grow,
08:17for sure, those kind of experiences,
08:19especially some of our younger players,
08:21because for a lot of them, they're still first.
08:25For a lot of them, it's going to be first at Anfield tomorrow night.
08:28People kind of dismiss the fact
08:30that it is such a young group,
08:32that a lot of them are doing things for the first time,
08:33that all you guys have kind of experienced in multiple events.
08:39But again, I see that as a positive.
08:41The more we expose them,
08:42the more we put them in these situations,
08:45the greater the growth will come from the group
08:47when we're further down the track.
08:50But I don't think...
08:52I think from what I've seen of the group
08:54and what they've had to handle over the last sort of two months,
08:59I don't think the atmosphere
09:01or sort of the conditions around the event
09:06are going to overwhelm them at all.
09:07I think they're ready for it.
09:09Tom?
09:10I don't know about you,
09:11but what can a midfielder have,
09:13given how various people have been this season,
09:16due to the context of the season,
09:20as a confidence booster to all these young players
09:23and all the others who are outside of this?
09:25Oh, look, there's no hiding it.
09:26It would be massive, because like I said,
09:28it's not...
09:29I mean, we've obviously had to beat both Manchester clubs
09:31to get to this point.
09:32We've had to beat Liverpool in the first leg
09:34to be in this position now.
09:35So, you know, we get to a final.
09:37It's going to be hard-earned.
09:40And like I said, going to Anfield,
09:42the way they're going this year,
09:44they've been an unbelievable team.
09:45They're so consistent.
09:48They're the most sort of settled,
09:49injury-free team in the whole league.
09:54You know, I think, apart from us,
09:56they're the only ones sort of in all the competitions,
09:59still having a crack in all the competitions.
10:00So, you know, all those ingredients,
10:04if we can manage to overcome that
10:06and get to a final, I think it'd be massive.
10:07Massive for where we're at.
10:08Massive for our future.
10:10And, you know, I'm sure it'll accelerate
10:15the growth of our players
10:17and the belief in what we're trying to do.
10:20So, you know, in that context,
10:22it's a massive knife for us.
10:24But I think we've earned the right to be in this position,
10:28even though it's been a real difficult season for us.
10:30So, you know, I think, like I said,
10:32we've earned the right to be in a position
10:34where we can make a big impact.
10:35And I want to say,
10:36this is going to be a difficult time for the player at the time.
10:40I mean, Harry Gaines talks about Sir Tiara Reid,
10:43loving words, good neighbours.
10:44There's loads of quotes about what a great player he is.
10:47Can you just give us a sense of what an exciting,
10:51global talent for the university?
10:53Yeah, I mean, you know,
10:57obviously my opinion is worthless
10:59when you're talking about all these other guys.
11:01So their opinion weighs far greater,
11:04but that's the reason I've signed him.
11:06You know, I think he's a very, very exciting.
11:10I think when you meet him,
11:12you realise he's got that bit about him as a person
11:17who has an enormous, even though he's young,
11:19self-belief and confidence in what he can do
11:21and what he wants to do.
11:25Even though he's young physically,
11:26he's already sort of, you know,
11:28in a place where he can take on the enormous challenges
11:33of being an attacking player in the Bundesliga.
11:37I think he can handle the Premier League.
11:40I think he's a goal scorer.
11:42He can take people on. He's got speed.
11:44Look, he is exciting.
11:46I'd be very surprised if there was a club
11:48that wouldn't be interested in somebody like him.
11:50So, I said us being able to cry,
11:54irrespective of the situation we're in,
11:55just us being able to get him in,
11:57the circumstances behind it,
11:58I think it's fantastic for the football club.
12:02Just finally, I remember when Richarlison was injured,
12:04that was the point you said,
12:05just the guys just asking about for a while,
12:07is this going to be alright?
12:09With Micky, and particularly Christian,
12:11are we in that territory at all?
12:13Is it completely different from here?
12:15Like, does it feel like it drags on?
12:17Yeah, it probably does.
12:19It's probably why I probably get asked about it
12:22sort of on a weekly basis.
12:24I don't understand it.
12:25They're two significant players.
12:26But, you know, I think whenever a player
12:30sort of is out for a significant amount of time
12:34and gets re-injured,
12:37then I think you kind of err on the side of being cautious.
12:41Now, you know, we could take risks with both of them,
12:45for sure.
12:46And I think, you know, if football's funny,
12:48they may be able to get through.
12:50Who knows?
12:51But the fact that there is a risk there,
12:53and with everything that we're sort of dealing with at the moment,
12:56I don't see the sense in us sort of pushing that through.
13:01You know, I think, I mean, they're different cases, of course,
13:03but they're both just so valuable to us
13:07that I guess the one thing I'm looking at is,
13:10when we bring them back, I want them to stay back.
13:12I don't want them to have another setback,
13:13because we can't afford to have another player in that position
13:16having a setback after losing Radu now.
13:19And I think what we've done with Richie has worked really well for us.
13:22This time, I mean, the first time he came back,
13:24sort of got re-injured.
13:27He's playing more than I want him to at the moment,
13:29which is not great, but he looks strong,
13:31he feels a lot better,
13:33like he was convinced when he came back that he was ready to go.
13:36I guess I need to get to that space with Mickey and Christian,
13:40where they feel like they're,
13:43yeah, look, I'm ready for the Premier League
13:44and whatever else we need to tackle.
13:47Hamza.
13:48Jürgen, you just mentioned Liverpool
13:50having had a pretty much injury for just one month ago,
13:52and also being in all the cups.
13:56Is there anything that you look to what they're doing differently,
14:00their club says that they've been a bit lucky,
14:02and also to try to adjust to how they've trained?
14:06Is there anything that you're thinking you're doing differently,
14:08or is there a couple of things that you think we need to see this week?
14:11Look, I think I said last week,
14:13we're looking at a whole range of things.
14:14I think for us, it's really hard to sort of investigate on the run,
14:22and I think that's where you kind of make,
14:25you may make decisions that come back
14:28that weren't exactly well-reasoned out.
14:34I've got a couple of ideas, and I think ours probably stems back,
14:37like I said before the pre-season,
14:38I think we had a lot of players
14:42who probably didn't get the break they needed,
14:44and we kind of, we started the season,
14:46we were obviously really bullish about how we wanted to go this year,
14:49and wanted to tackle everything,
14:50and we probably weren't ready for that,
14:53and we paid the price for that,
14:55and we have been unlucky as well,
14:58because not all injuries have been sort of muscle injuries.
15:03Vicario, which was a big loss for us,
15:05and obviously Radu,
15:07and even had things like Bente Gor being suspended for seven games,
15:10which again, you know, did the wrong thing.
15:13We had to take the punishment,
15:14but at the time it happened, we were kind of short a player,
15:17so there's a whole range of things
15:18that kind of ended up being a perfect storm for us,
15:20but we'll certainly look at the way we do things.
15:24I know people kind of look at our training,
15:25but I guarantee you, we have hardly trained for the last four months.
15:29We, I've said before, all of you could have done our training,
15:31like we've been playing games.
15:33It's got nothing to do with our training.
15:36You know, we're kind of looking at our processes,
15:39and certainly it's not a situation we want to be in again,
15:41but I think the wise thing to do is to kind of stay calm
15:48and investigate it properly,
15:49and make sure we make the best decisions moving forward.
15:51And how does that process work?
15:52I mean, you've been a big support type,
15:54so I've watched you at Seminar, you've been like five years ago,
15:58pretty much mentioned that you like to let your team
16:01do what they need to do, and you sort of oversee that.
16:04How does that work when...
16:06Yeah, look, I really believe in that.
16:08I think, you know, as much as I've been in the game for a long time,
16:13and that's not my area of expertise.
16:18You know, you want to employ the best people with the best knowledge
16:22and allow them to do what they feel is best.
16:25But it all has to correlate to one sort of central idea,
16:30which is how we want to play.
16:32So, it all feeds from there,
16:34but I don't sit over their shoulders and tell them what to do.
16:36You know, I really...
16:38And I think it's important that people are empowered,
16:40because that's how you get the best out of them.
16:43They have the knowledge, they have the expertise,
16:45and my role within that is to kind of guide
16:48and make sure we don't move away from the basic core principle
16:51of the way we want to play our football.
16:53Last couple of jokes.
16:55Can you talk a bit about, first,
16:57the United States experience over the next couple of weeks?
17:01I mean, the other influence that you've got on the side
17:03that's coming over the next ten years is Henry, not much of a coach,
17:07but he's a great shot in the last couple of games.
17:10Do you sense a different kind of determination in him
17:14as opposed to, like, gearing up to the big games, especially?
17:18Yeah, look, Sonny's been outstanding for us.
17:21I mean, I think...
17:24Again, I've said before with Sonny,
17:29the extremes we've had to put on him this year is just...
17:34It'd be tough for anyone to sort of carry the load he has,
17:37both from a physical perspective and mental perspective.
17:41You know, I think he was unbelievable against Brentford on the weekend,
17:46but that's because he only played 45 minutes on Thursday night.
17:49We haven't been able to do that.
17:51You know, we've had to...
17:53If we had the opportunity to give him the rest he needs to be at his best,
17:58I think you would have seen him.
17:59But certainly, at this stage of the season,
18:04I think he's really got a real clear focus in his eye
18:07that he sees sense as an opportunity for us as a football club,
18:11not just for himself, to have success this year.
18:14And, you know, I think him and I think Ben Davies
18:17have been another one who really stepped up in recent times,
18:20two guys who've been in this club for a long time
18:22and understand what success will do for this football club,
18:26not just for them personally, which I think should be a driver
18:29because I think Sonny, for the kind of...
18:35Everything he's done for the football club,
18:38I think it would be more than fitting for him to get some trophies,
18:42to sort of add to his already, you know, sort of status at this football club.
18:48I think both of them realise what it means for the club, more importantly.
18:52And, you know, he's going to be...
18:54He has been, but, you know, he's going to be a big sort of part of us,
18:57hopefully, you know, having success.
19:00Just on the nature of it,
19:01both the two that you mentioned have experienced discipline
19:04through these big games with the two clubs.
19:07Is that sort of a mental hindrance for them?
19:10Or is it to tell them, give them a bit of advice
19:13so that they know what not to do?
19:16Oh, look, all these things, experiences, you know,
19:19I think it depends how you kind of use them.
19:21You know, they give you perspective, they give you understanding,
19:24they give you learnings.
19:27You know, you can be at both ends of the spectrum
19:29where you've tried and you've failed, but that's allowed you to grow.
19:35Or you can be at the other end of the spectrum
19:37where you've never failed and you don't know what that looks like.
19:39So you just go sort of blindly into anything you're doing.
19:44So it's a balance of both.
19:47You know, I think, I don't think, I don't sense with Sonny in particular,
19:51but even with Ben, there's any burden on them
19:53or they feel like, oh, you know, we're going to fall short
19:56or, you know, there's something missing.
19:58I think they're as optimistic as anyone.
20:01And for the other guys, like I said,
20:05whatever this club's been through in the last sort of 14, 15 years,
20:09trying to get a trophy, they're not a big part of it.
20:11So they don't need to feel burdened by that.
20:13They can just go out there and try and change that.
20:21Do you want to phone it in and get my phone voice?
20:24Are there red flags when you speak to players about that?
20:27Can you think of any examples?
20:28Feel free to give names where it's got tips.
20:30Away from my book, mate.
20:34No, there are red flags. There are.
20:36And like I said, it's because I'm 59 years old
20:41and I kind of spoke about knowledge before,
20:45but with age comes wisdom,
20:48which is much more powerful than knowledge.
20:52So you get a sense of these things.
20:54You get a sense of people.
20:55I think I'm a pretty good judge of a person.
20:58Not in a, you know, to contextualise that,
21:01I'm not a bad or good person.
21:03It's a person who's going to fit what I'm trying to do here.
21:06That's the main thing for me,
21:07because there are fantastic footballers, fantastic people
21:10who may be not a good fit.
21:11I'm not the right kind of manager for them.
21:13You've got to accept that, you know.
21:15It's not a judgment call on them in terms of a value base.
21:18It's whether, does their personality, does their character,
21:21where they are in their career,
21:22what kind of questions are they asking?
21:25You know, I've said before,
21:26if you get a sense of what they say
21:29as to where they're at in their careers,
21:30then you go, okay, well,
21:31that marries up with what we're trying to do here.
21:35So there are sort of red flags.
21:39And I think it's important that there are,
21:41because the last thing I want to do is bring a player here
21:45who's not going to fit, because it's not good for me
21:46and it's not good for the player either, you know.
21:48They've got a big decision to make
21:50and they need to know what they're walking into.
21:51So I try and play, sort of paint as clear a picture as possible
21:55of what you're coming into.
21:57And there's been times, again, I won't name names,
21:59but players have gone, actually, that's not for me.
22:01And I respect that, you know.
22:03I'd rather that than sort of, like I said,
22:05we all agree and everyone's happy.
22:07And the worst thing you can do is say, well, geez,
22:10I've got a great contract, great money,
22:11and you come in here and you're not happy
22:13because then you realise that that's not the important bit.
22:15How long did you speak to Taylor?
22:17How long did it take you to realise that?
22:20Oh, look, it was a sort of strange and lasted sort of conversation,
22:26messages over a couple of hours.
22:28And I felt if I kept him on the phone long enough,
22:32I'd wear him down and, you know,
22:35he was falling asleep at the end, I think.
22:37So, yeah, no, I got a sense pretty early on
22:40that, yeah, there was a connection there
22:42and he was hearing what he wanted to hear.
22:44Like I said, it's a big decision.
22:46He's a 19-year-old man at a fantastic football club.
22:49They would be quite happy to sort of keep him there, I'm sure.
22:54But he also knew that he needs to play.
22:56But not just play, play where he's going to develop.
23:01And I think it's a credit to him
23:04that rather than just sort of jump at whatever came to him,
23:07he was really thorough in the way he made his decision.
23:10Thanks, guys.