Ange Postecoglou is winning Tottenham fans back over with punters coming to his defence over a widely misconstrued quote.
The Aussie has had his critics this season after overseeing a poor start to the campaign and the general feeling among the frustrated support was that he’d run his race with a few minutes to go of their EFL Cup tie against Coventry. But they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat despite trailing for much of the second half, and followed that up with an impressive 3-1 win over Brentford at the weekend.
There’s signs of life from the former Celtic boss who has cut a defiant figure in the face of criticism. Speaking at a fan forum event, he underlined his commitment to playing football his way – and a snipped quote was taken out of context and shared widely on social media. He was quoted as saying: “As much as we want success, there is a Spurs way, and I won’t deviate from that,” and many took that as a suggestion he willing to sacrifice long-term success to implement his ways.
The full run however painted a different picture and fans were quick to point that out. One shared the full 30-second clip as Postecoglou delivered the following speech to a standing ovation.
“As much as we want success and we want to win things, no-one better than me, what comes first is the way we play. I’m not going to deviate from that. That means it’s not going to be an easy road, and along the way, we’re going to be tested and questioned.
“But when success comes to this football club, and it will come, it will be glorious. Because it will be exactly the way the club wants it.”
In reply, one fan wrote: “He’s reeling me back in a little, he talks so well,” while others pointed to the dangers of reading into bite-sized snippets on social media. One said: “Convinced that Twitter has warped fans’ minds beyond redemption. How could you want anyone but Ange to be our manager?! He’s extraordinary,” while another simply added: “Constantly struggling to find the words to describe how much I love this man.”
Spurs face Qarabag in the Europa League tonight before a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday. They travel to Ibrox to face Rangers in December, and while there had been suggestions he might not make it that long after a poor start, he’s since built up some credit in the bank and doesn’t appear in imminent danger.