Ange Postecoglou would be the first to admit he is as flawed as the next man, and among his foibles is a tendency to be surly after bad results.
Postecoglou's post-match media appearances following defeats are often gruff and short-lived, and occasionally downright tetchy, as on Sunday, when he was brusque with a TV interviewer after Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in the north London derby.
Told he normally wins a trophy in his second season at a club, Postecoglou responded: "I'll correct [what you] said: I always win things in my second year."
This show of defiance made most of the back-pages and led to suggestions that Postecoglou has arrogantly added unnecessary pressure to himself and his young Spurs team, who have started the season unconvincingly ahead of Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie against second-tier Coventry.
Postecoglou’s ambitious and defiant rhetoric should be welcomed, it’s strange to see his confidence presented as a problem
If he is gruff after bad results, Postecoglou can, though, be persuasive when he is in the mood and yesterday he doubled down on and contextualised his comment in an impressive rhetorical flourish.
"I’m happy to be judged against that standard because that’s my standard, that’s what I’ve done in the past... I have no problems with people using that as a yardstick," he said.
Postecoglou is good at this, talking himself out of a hole After a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in May, which left some supporters feeling mutinous, Postecoglou delivered an impassioned address about the "need to change", which one of my colleagues aptly described as a 'manifesto for his second season'. It lifted the mood.
Just when fans think they are out, Big Ange pulls them back in.
There is a case, obviously, that Postecoglou should try to avoid digging holes in the first place. He was also, for example, prickly on Sunday about Spurs' weakness defending set-pieces after Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes predictably headed home the game's only goal from a corner.
"I know, I know, for some reason people think I don't care about set pieces and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages," said Postecoglou, who effectively created this perception himself by insisting in May he was "not interested" in the issue.
If Postecoglou is not perfect, his ambitious and defiant rhetoric should nonetheless be welcomed at Spurs and it is strange to see his confidence presented as a problem.
The 59-year-old, do not forget, was named Tottenham head coach in July 2023 with a mandate to not only revolutionise the dour football of his predecessors but transform the culture of a club which had long since grown accustomed to not winning.
Almost every one of Postecoglou's modern predecessors has alluded to some ingrained deficiency in the very fabric of the club, with Antonio Conte going furthest in an infamous rant in his final act as manager, shredding his players but suggesting their failings were a symptom of the club's culture.
Against this backdrop, Postecoglou's unshakeable self-belief and determination to aim for the top is both refreshing and exactly what Tottenham need.
How do you change the culture of a losing club without aiming to win?
How do you get the players used to playing under pressure (another criticism of Conte's) if they are not put under pressure from above?
It was put to Postecoglou by another colleague yesterday that discussing 'the t-word' -- trophy -- has often made people squirm at Spurs, and there is something in this.
Conte and Jose Mourinho were supposed to be proven winners but they never behaved like it in north London, constantly lowering expectations by publicly downplaying the club's prospects or simply whining about being unable to compete.
Their approaches, above all, felt like self-preservation but Postecoglou has never tried to shield himself from scrutiny or blame -- a point he made yesterday.
If Spurs finish another season without a trophy, Postecoglou's 'I always win things' comment may come to look foolish, no doubt gleefully shared on social media by rival supporters and thrown back in the manager's face at every opportunity.
But then Spurs would be mocked for another barren campaign regardless and, as the famous quote by their double-winning manager Bill Nicholson goes: "It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low." For all his flaws, Postecoglou understands this.
