Ange Postecoglou says he is committed to Tottenham after it emerged he is in the frame for the England job.
The Telegraph reported yesterday that the FA have included Postecoglou on their list of candidates to succeed Gareth Southgate.
FA technical director John McDermott is compiling a shortlist for the next England boss and is said to have been tracking the Australian for years.
But Spurs would fight to keep Postecoglou if the FA made an approach for the 58-year-old, who still has three years left on his contract, and he said last night: “I’m the Tottenham manager and I’m determined to bring success to this club.
“That’s where my focus is totally. Nothing else is on my radar except for that. We haven’t achieved anything yet. So until we achieved something my work is not done.”
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Lee Carsley are among the frontrunners for the England job. But Postecoglou managed the Australian national team from 2013-17 and fits the FA’s criteria for the new boss. He is viewed as an excellent coach with good man-management skills who could continue the “culture” Southgate created.
The FA have not ruled out appointing a foreign manager to succeed Southgate, although it is believed they favour finding an English candidate.
It has been reported the FA can offer a salary of up to £5million, which is towards the lower end of the pay scale for leading managers in the Premier League.
Asked about the links after Spurs beat Hearts 5-1 in a pre-season friendly in Scotland last night, Postecoglou said: “I reckon by the end of it there will be 100 of them. I am in the top 100. That is decent.”
On Southgate’s decision to stand down from England, Postecoglou said: “In my whole career I have always felt there was a natural conclusion. Sometimes as a manager it gets taken out of your hands, so you have no choice if you move on or not, but I have kind of always moved and felt it was the right time. He is the best judge of that.
“He has done an unbelievable job, ridiculously good in terms of results and performances in major tournaments. The expectation is now really high for England and he has created that. He is in the best place to say whether it was time for him and like I said as managers a lot of the time our future is taken out of our hands so it is nice when we make the decision sometimes.”
The FA are not against appointing an interim boss for Nations League games in September, with England Under-21 boss Carsley favourite to fulfil that role.
They could face competition for Pochettino, who is interested in the England job but is also said to be under consideration for the US national team job following his departure from Chelsea at the end of last season.
