Ange Postecoglou unique: Tottenham boss focusing on silverware in his second season in cost | Soccer Information

“Normally in my second season I win issues.”

Ange Postecoglou’s phrases can be music to the ears of Tottenham followers, who’ve been starved of silverware for greater than 16 years.

The Australian’s hopes of profitable Spurs’ first trophy since 2008 seem to have been considerably heightened following the club-record signing of Dominic Solanke.

Monday nineteenth August 6:30pm


Kick off 8:00pm

His £65m arrival from Bournemouth lastly fills the Harry Kane void and provides Postecoglou the No 9 he sought to maneuver the group ahead.

Talking solely to Sky Sports activities two days earlier than Solanke’s signing, Postecoglou was already in an optimistic temper forward of his second season in cost as he mentioned how his group can enhance from their fifth-placed end, James Maddison’s type and the summer season switch window…

What did you get from this pre-season?

“Positively a progress within the gamers. Their understanding and their embracing of the way in which we prepare and the way in which we do issues. It was all very new to them final 12 months, it is truthful to say. It was a reasonably drastic departure from what they’d been used to.

“Each time you have got that change, there’s all the time a little bit little bit of uncertainty. They give the impression of being extra snug this 12 months in embracing what we will do and what we’ve been doing. Once more, that is good for me and the opposite coaches as a result of it permits us to say we have now obtained to problem them and ourselves to verify what we’re delivering is at an even bigger degree than it was final 12 months.”

How do you’re feeling about your second season in cost?

“I assume I am not the shiny new factor anymore, so there’s different new managers. Individuals can go off and uncover them and their childhood and never have to talk about mine anymore.

“Normally in my second season I win issues. That is the entire thought. First 12 months is about establishing ideas and making a basis. Hopefully the second 12 months goes onto win issues. After all it is simpler mentioned than executed, notably within the Premier League and the competitors we’re in. That is all the time the way in which I’ve checked out it, is that the second 12 months try to be able the place you’ll be able to push on, relying on how the primary 12 months has gone.

“Final 12 months we had some actually good moments, clearly we had some powerful moments. I feel we learnt as a lot from the powerful moments as we did from the great things and hopefully meaning we’re in a superb place. We’re undoubtedly a better-prepared group than we had been final 12 months.”

What is the subsequent step for this group?

“What we actually discovered final 12 months, and it was no shock, was that each time we had disruptions, whether or not that was accidents or suspensions, we lacked some self-discipline, we actually struggled to take care of the degrees of soccer that we established when everybody was up and working.

“Invariably in any 12 months you are going to have some challenges. It is about dealing with that higher. Having a greater squad hopefully copes with that. A greater understanding of, by means of that point, what we have to concentrate on. Meaning to me that we’re higher ready for the challenges which are all the time there.

“It does not matter which group you might be or how you probably did final 12 months, each group will go into this season figuring out there’s going to be a difficult interval for them. And hopefully with what we went by means of final 12 months, what we learnt and the event of gamers… as a result of we’re nonetheless a really younger group and a number of them it was their first 12 months within the Premier League or their first 12 months at Tottenham. If you’re taking a look at a benchmark I feel most of them left a fairly respectable one final 12 months, so if we are able to enhance on that that may put us in a fairly good area.”

Which particular features do you suppose want some sharpening?

“I feel in all features. The very first thing is, have I obtained a gaggle of gamers who consider in what we’re making an attempt to do? I actually do consider that. That is the primary a part of any kind of course of. We have purchased into the way in which we need to play as a result of it is difficult. You have to be courageous. You’ve got obtained to have the ability to do issues a little bit bit in a different way, positionally, or in the way in which we method video games. You have to have an open thoughts about that. The primary 12 months is about making an attempt to get folks to consider in that.

“Most likely as a result of we obtained off to such a terrific begin, that there wasn’t an excessive amount of resistance. The gamers purchased into it, they loved it they usually wished extra of it. However now it is about doing that on a extra constant foundation and never permitting, whether or not that is oppositions or exterior influences, to take us off the street we’re on. I believed it occurred too typically final 12 months the place there was an opposition tactic, or one thing we did self-inflicted – whether or not that was a scarcity of self-discipline or we had accidents and we needed to shuffle the group round. We did not keep as constant in our method. However I feel for probably the most half, the gamers nonetheless tried to do what we wished them to do. Hopefully we execute higher.”

After James Maddison’s England omission for Euro 2024, did you have got an opportunity to talk to him about it?

“I have not had an in depth chat with him. However once more, I feel that is a part of a footballer’s journey. I’ve typically mentioned that I feel generally we see issues in such a linear kind of method the place we expect that the whole lot goes to be nice and it by no means is. You would be the best at one thing however there’s going to be challenges, there’s going to be stumbles alongside the way in which and it is the way you react to them, what you do about them. The way you embrace the following problem that comes alongside.

“For Madders I am positive he was enormously disenchanted in lacking out as a result of he’d been part of that group that went on that journey. However he is nonetheless obtained loads of soccer in him and there is nonetheless challenges there for him. It is the way you cope with that. Do you type of simply write it off or do you utilize it as motivation shifting ahead? Do you utilize it as perhaps a time of self-reflection to say, nicely, may I’ve executed something higher? If you’re sincere with your self and ask these questions, you would possibly discover that, no, really I am nonetheless on the precise path. However you might want to do this and use that shifting ahead.

“He is been nice since we obtained again. His season final 12 months type of mirrored ours. He was unbelievable when he was up and going after which he had accidents. It was a little bit of a grind when he did get again and that was type of us as a group, so hopefully the way in which we have realized as a group he is realized about as a person – as a result of he is a giant a part of our aspect. We have a really younger group and he is one which has that have, has that high quality and one we’ll be on the lookout for to information us by means of it.”

How a lot do you depend on signings to visualise a brand new season?

“It is an vital a part of the method and I feel it comes again to what I’ve typically mentioned – a part of recruiting is knowing you are not recruiting footballers, you are recruiting folks. What sort of individual are they? Why do they need to come to Tottenham? Are they bold? Have they got an open thoughts? Are they ready to tackle the big problem of making one thing particular on the membership that has that success? All these sorts of issues, and hopefully the stuff that they’ve already recognized in order that after they come right here they really feel prefer it’s the precise place for them.

“Hopefully they stroll right into a dressing room of like-minded people who all have that type of mindset. That helps them then visualise what we’re making an attempt to construct. It is in all probability a better course of for guys, new gamers coming on this 12 months as a result of they stroll right into a dressing room and the blokes can have absolute readability and provides them absolute readability of what they’re all making an attempt to do. Whereas final 12 months it was extra about me making an attempt to create that setting, me making an attempt to color these footage to everybody, not simply the gamers and workers, however everybody on the soccer membership.

“Hopefully this 12 months, for the blokes we have introduced in thus far, they stroll right into a dressing room they usually can really feel precisely what we’re making an attempt to do.”

In technical phrases, what do you look particularly at in an attacking participant?

“Whether or not it is an attacking participant or any participant, what I feel folks have hopefully understood is that we’ve an actual identification to how we play our soccer. You type of know when Tottenham performs, we will have two wingers on the market, we will be very, superb at taking gamers on, being actually aggressive with their play, having the ability to press.

“If I am on the lookout for a left winger, they’re the type of attributes which are fairly clear that we have to see in them as a result of in the end there’s incredible footballers everywhere in the world. You possibly can decide any considered one of them they usually’d be unbelievable, however I’ve obtained to see them in my group in the way in which we need to play. They have to have these attributes.

“In a method that makes the method simpler, nevertheless it’s additionally difficult as a result of it is a a lot smaller area that you are looking at. In immediately’s market, it is not simple to get that squad of gamers when it is so aggressive. For me, whether or not that is an attacking participant or any participant, it is do I see them in our group tomorrow with the attributes they’ve? Clearly we have to teach them and assist them by means of the method. Have they got these qualities that I see them taking part in in our group? In the event that they tick that field, then that is a giant a part of us saying, ‘Effectively okay, I feel you will be a superb match’.”

What are you able to say to these followers who’re anxious through the summer season switch window? (Talking earlier than Spurs introduced the signings of Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert)

“I perceive that anxiousness as a result of each switch window is your solely alternative to enhance your taking part in personnel and your squad.

“I prefer to suppose in each window thus far we’ve strengthened. Definitely final 12 months we introduced in some incredible footballers. In January, we introduced in Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner. We have introduced in two younger guys – Archie Grey, who’s a incredible younger expertise, and Lucas (Bergvall) joins us, although we signed him in January, however we nonetheless have work to do. There isn’t any doubt about that. That is the character of the switch market.

“For me, I’ve simply as a lot anxiousness as a result of it is the a part of the 12 months I’ve least management over. It could be nice if I had whole management over the whole lot, together with what different golf equipment did, however that does not occur.

“I perceive the place the followers sit with it. My function inside that’s to try to keep calm, keep disciplined and ensure that come the top of the window, which is an important time, we have had one other constructive window in that we have made our squad and our group stronger.”