Ledley King has urged the Tottenham Hotspur fans to give new head coach Ange Postecoglou the time he needs to transform the club and told football.london that he thinks Harry Kane is the natural heir to Hugo Lloris' captaincy.
Spurs ended weeks of speculation by appointing Celtic boss Postecoglou on Tuesday, the first time they have hired a manager currently at work at another club in almost a decade. The 57-year-old Australian has been catching the eye of various clubs across the Premier League and Europe this season with the free-flowing fast and attractive football being played at the Glasgow side.
Former Tottenham captain King, who was at the launch of the club's new Nike home kit at Alexandra Palace, told football.london that he believes Postecoglou and the north London club are a perfect fit.
"I think it's a good appointment. Looking at his style of football it looks right up our street in terms of what we like to do, front foot football, developing young players and scoring plenty of goals," he said. "I'm sure the players are really looking forward to getting a chance to work with him. It's also good that we were able to do our business so quickly after the season finished. Props to the chairman for actually getting that done and over the line so quickly after Saturday's [Scottish Cup] final and now we know what direction we're moving in and really looking forward to pre-season and starting to build."
The Tottenham fans have grown frustrated in recent seasons by the club's decisions and fortunes, culminating in this campaign's eighth-place finish and having no European football next season for the first time in 14 years.
Postecoglou has admitted that at all of his previous clubs it has taken a few months to instil his very different methods and philosophy into the staff and players and there can be some early rocky results before they hit their stride. King hopes that the fans will give the Australian the time to get this way across.
"He's signed a big, long contract. We know that his style of football is different to what we've been playing so we need to give him time to get his thoughts and messages across to the players," said the former England international. "I've got no doubt that we will give him time because his methods and his style is something that suits us and suits the type of players we have.
"There's not too much patience in football. It seems nowadays that after two or three bad results any manager is under pressure but we've brought him in for the long-term. He's got a long-term contract.
"I urge the fans to give him a bit of time. He's new to the Premier League as well and it'll take a little bit of time to get his thoughts across. I'm just glad that he's got pre-season from the first day and that will hopefully make a difference."
Spurs will have to adjust their squad to suit a manager who plays with an attacking 4-3-3 system after the club compiled a group of players to fit Antonio Conte's 3-4-3 formation, but King feels many of the squad can adapt.
"I believe that the style of football [Postecoglou] plays, he wants his team to be on the front foot and attacking and there's no reason why wing-backs can't do that when playing in a back four, especially if you have more of the ball and you're going forward the majority of the time," he said. "I don't see a problem with that. They're all professional players and for me any wing-back should be able to defend as well.
"We do have a number of players to come back into the squad [from loan] which will be interesting for the manager to look at. I'm sure each one will be excited at the prospect of showing the manager what they are capable of.
"There's no doubt about it, there's still a lot of talent within that group and it's up to the manager now to decide who he wants to move forward with."
One player who has publicly said that he wants to leave for a new challenge is captain Lloris and King believes everyone can only wish him well if he does depart this summer.
"First and foremost Hugo has been an unbelievable servant for the football club. He joined the club just after I retired and he's been the captain so I've got to know Hugo quite well over the years. He's a World Cup winner, a leader and he's been a fantastic servant for the club," he said.
"Of course I just wish him well in whatever is the next step. He's still got a year left on his contract and if it suits all parties we'll have to see, but he's been fantastic for us."
When asked who he would like to see as the new captain if Lloris does depart, King added: "Harry [Kane] has been the captain when Hugo's not been playing so it makes sense for him to become the permanent captain but there's a few in there that can lead the team moving forward."
The former Spurs captain liked the look of the new home kit, which sees the club boast an all-white look this season with their shorts and socks.
"It looks really smart. It's a clean cut, the lines are crisp and I think the fans and the players will enjoy it," said King.
When asked what his favourite Tottenham kit was from the years he played for the club, he thought for a moment before saying: "There's been some good ones and some not so memorable ones. I will say this, at the time I didn't like the brown one at all but it ended up growing on me a lot.
"When I look back now, the one that really reminds me of a happy time was the one we won the Carling Cup in for obvious reasons."
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