Ange Postecoglou is now the frontrunner with the bookmakers to become Tottenham's next manager following a major twist in the club's search for Antonio Conte's successor. Arne Slot was the previous favourite for the hotseat but on Thursday morning he confirmed that he will be remaining with Feyenoord rather than making the switch to N17.
Now 60 days on from Conte's exit and with the club now on course to surpass their 72-day search for Jose Mourinho's replacement two years ago, Postecoglou has jumped to the top of the list. Former Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers is next in line with the bookies, with Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Graham Potter other names towards the top.
Maybe an underwhelming appointment for many if he is appointed boss amid links with Nagelsmann, Slot and former head coach Mauricio Pochettino, Postecoglou would help Levy fulfil his goal of bringing a manager to the club who plays "football you will love to come and watch". Eyebrows were raised when the 57-year-old was appointed as Celtic boss in June 2021, especially with his only taste of management in Europe coming in the Greek third division back in 2008.
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He did, however, have a wealth of experience in the game having achieved success with Brisbane Roar and Yokohama F. Marinos either side of a four-year spell as Australia manager where he helped them win the Asian Cup against South Korea in 2015. An early exit for Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers and an opening day defeat away at Hearts raised further questions about Postecoglou, yet he was to have the last laugh after winning the Scottish Premiership and League Cup in his first season in charge.
All that came off the back of Celtic having a dismal previous campaign where they finished an incredible 25 points behind fierce rivals Rangers in the league table. A summer of change in the east end of Glasgow with a number of high-profile exits including Scott Brown, Kristoffer Ajer, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard, Postecoglou transformed Celtic with his transfer business.
Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda, all of whom he knew from his time working in Japan, joined the club, as did players such as Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic, Jota, Matt O'Riley and former Tottenham duo Joe Hart and Cameron Carter-Vickers. Implementing attractive, free-flowing football and getting his side to stick to their attacking principles in hope of achieving their long-term goals, the main message from Postecoglou was to 'trust the process'.
Celtic have gone from strength to strength under the Greek-born manager and it is no surprise to see why he has been linked with a move to the Premier League. Postecoglou is adored by the Celtic faithful, and it's perhaps not hard to see why as he says all the right things and, most importantly, gets his team playing the right way which has led to success after success.
With the Premiership and League Cup already in the bag this season, Postecoglou and Celtic now have the opportunity to complete the treble on Saturday, June 3 when they take on Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park. Postecoglou just gets Celtic and the fans and his goal to entertain them comes from his upbringing in Australia.
"The people who follow Celtic are not just supporters, this is generational stories passed down almost like a family heirloom that this is your football club and nothing changes it. And nothing is more important apart from your family and your football club," he said when speaking on The Howie Games.
"I see that even today that grandfathers or grandmothers with fathers and with their grandkids all as one going to the stadium and it's a ritual for them. It's everything. It's an extension of their family and they will sit down at the beginning of the season and look at the fixtures and plan key family events around them. You do not have a christening or a wedding if Celtic are playing at home, it just does not happen! And then that extends to if the team wins, your week is great. If the team loses, you don't want to leave your house.
"Me being sort of a figurehead of the club now, I feel that responsibility, I felt it from day one and I also understood it because it was sort of my childhood. I understood that football club because for me South Melbourne Hellas was not just my football club, it was more than that.
"For my dad it was his coping mechanism for living in a foreign land and not understanding it. He could go to soccer on a Sunday, be surrounded by like-minded people and feel at ease, talk about the week's troubles and go back out and do the grind again on a Monday. That football club was more than just us supporting it, it was an extension of our family and that's what Celtic is.
"When I took the job I knew that responsibility and it weighed, not heavily on me, but I understood that if I could bring success to this football club it's something meaningful and it's not just parading a premiership flag. It's more than that and it's giving joy to people's lives even if they're going through the hardest of times."
Following a 3-0 home win over Rangers at the beginning of February 2022 that saw the team move top of the league table for the first time since September 2020, Postecoglou again outlined the importance of giving supporters something to enjoy and be proud of as, for some, football is a release and it allows them to put their problems to one side for 90 minutes.
“We’re upholding the values of this football club, not just in terms of winning but the way we play our football," he told BBC Radio Scotland, as reported by The Celtic Way. "I want them to be proud of us. I hope they are proud on the journey home tonight. I am sure they will enjoy tonight, I don’t know how work will go tomorrow for most of them.
“As I said to the players, we had 60,000 in tonight and I’m sure a lot of them walked in with some problems in their life. For this 95 minutes we made them forget that and feel good and that’s something special.”
Tottenham's style of play has been a major talking point ever since Mauricio Pochettino departed in November 2019 and was replaced by Jose Mourinho. Despite stating in his programme notes in May 2021 about the importance of returning to their free-flowing, attacking and entertaining football playing style, the chairman's next two appointments didn't see a change with Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte coming in through the door.
The potential appointment of Postecoglou would see Tottenham return to the playing style for which they are known, especially as that is his football philosophy and he also knows the importance of giving supporters something to look forward to.
“My philosophy on the pitch is that we never stop. We aim to be relentless in our spirit and in our commitment," he said ahead of a trip to Ibrox in March 2022, as reported by the Daily Record. “Playing attacking, entertaining football won’t always be easy but it will always be worth it. And for me, it will always be worth giving you a team you can be proud of.
“As I say to the players, for 90 minutes it is our responsibility to make you feel good and give you moments to remember. It will always be our way."
He added: “Of course, winning is a huge part of the club’s identity, but for me it’s not just about winning, it’s about how we win and about the kind of team we aspire to be. It’s about having a strong faith in our ability and a belief in our own style of football.
“We have a way of playing the game which is challenging but offers great rewards and while we have a huge responsibility to deliver results, we want to be a team that excites you, puts a smile on your face and gets you out of your seat.
“I want my players to enjoy it and I want our fans to enjoy it - together. And by uniting behind this shared vision of what we want to be, we can deliver the success we aim for.”
Maybe not a managerial appointment that will immediately excite fans, Postecoglou, as he has proved at Celtic, has all the qualities to unite everyone and deliver Levy's statement if given the opportunity.
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