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Alasdair Gold

'The strength of Postecoglou' - Expert insight into new Tottenham boss and 3 players he can sign

Tottenham have a new head coach in Ange Postecoglou after the Australian was appointed on a four-year deal at the north London club.

The 57-year-old has made the switch from Celtic, where he wrapped up the domestic treble at the weekend, and officially begins work on July 1 in trying to get Tottenham back on track, although football.london understands Postecoglou will be consulted and involved in all football-related decisions from this point on at Spurs.

In order to get an expert's view on the new head coach we spoke to Sunday Mail chief football writer Scott McDermott, who has covered Celtic and the Australian extensively.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou could hand Daniel Levy the solution to his constant Tottenham manager mistake

What can Tottenham fans expect from Ange Postecoglou?

A football obsessive who demands high standards and someone who players want to play for. He's got the personality and character to manage a big club - that was evident from the first day he walked into Celtic.

Ange has the blend that every top manager has nowadays. He has the technical and tactical attributes you must have as an elite level coach in the modern game, but he also has that old-school fear factor. You wouldn't mess with him.

The club is in need of a big rebuild, how will that fit into his skillset?

Celtic were in a state of turmoil when he arrived. They'd just failed in their bid for 10-in-a-row and several top players were leaving. It looked like Rangers would go on to dominate for a few years.

When Ange arrived, he was a complete unknown and the club's second choice after Eddie Howe had turned them down.

He had very little knowledge of the European transfer market having only worked in Australia and Asia before, but he recruited brilliantly and rebuilt Celtic's squad in such a short space of time. After teething problems initially, they quickly gelled and became a force.

Almost all of his signings had a major impact, particularly the Japanese players. So if Spurs need a rebuild, he'll relish that challenge as he's shown he can mould a team together quickly.

How is he with players? The perception is that he only speaks to them when necessary?

That's correct and that's the old-school element to his character that I've mentioned. The players rarely see him but when he steps into training or a team meeting, he impacts them and improves them. That's the strength of Postecoglou.

Every Celtic player would run through a brick wall for him, that's the effect he's had on them. He gets players on-side, backs them and as long as they maintain the standards he's set, he lets them flourish on the pitch.

The flip side is that if you don't - he won't shy away from making big decisions. Josip Juranovic and Georgios Giakoumakis were big, important, valuable players for Celtic, but the minute they intimated to Postecoglou that they were interested in looking elsewhere, he told them to go. He doesn't care how big a profile you have - if you don't buy in, you're out.

Celtic have struggled in Europe on the whole under him, is that something to be concerned about?

Not particularly. I think it's a blessing for Spurs that they're not in Europe for Ange arriving. It means he can solely focus on getting them into the top four or six in the Premier League and, crucially, trying to win a domestic trophy.

His record in Europe wasn't great with Celtic - the Bodo Glimt defeat was probably his worst result - but you have to remember the resources Celtic has at that level compared to others.

While they struggled for points in this season's Champions League, they actually earned plaudits for their approach and performances.

Scottish teams are used to sitting in and playing defensive football at that level. Ange changed that - he refused to play any other way than going toe-to-toe, irrespective of the opposition. For half an hour at Parkhead, they bossed Real Madrid and should have led. That's not easy.

Of course, they should have beaten the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk but defensively, they weren't good enough.

Are there any Celtic players you believe would be good enough to follow him to Tottenham?

There are three players I think will definitely come into Ange's thinking when he's looking at recruitment for Spurs. The two obvious ones are the Japanese duo, Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate. Kyogo has been a revelation in Scotland, scoring 34 goals this season.

He's quick, hard-working, energetic and relentless in pressing from the front. On top of that, he's deadly in front of goal. At 28, nearly 29, if he's going to move to the Premier League, it probably has to be now. Harry Kane's future might play a part in whether Ange considers trying to snare him from Celtic.

Hatate is probably a more likely target because of his age. He hasn't even hit his prime yet and looks the perfect fit for the Premier League. A few years ago he was playing University football in Japan before Postecoglou plucked him from obscurity.

Technically, he's terrific and he's a modern-day box-to-box midfielder who gets about the pitch with his boundless energy. Postecoglou is a huge fan so he'll definitely be under consideration.

And ironically, the third player was actually signed from Spurs. It's unlikely they'll come back in for Cameron Carter-Vickers having only just sold him to Celtic last summer, but he's been outstanding for Postecoglou in Glasgow and how he didn't get an opportunity to shine at Spurs - given their defensive problems - defies logic.

What are his non-negotiables with players and the club?

It's just the standards he sets on and off the pitch, and the style he wants his team to play in. His mantra at Celtic from the start was: 'We Never Stop'. That became his motto and it typified how his team played.

He demanded that they were relentless in their work, not just on the ball but off it as well. They smothered teams with their pressing and were ruthless in their attacking play.

In terms of the club, if he didn't feel Spurs were prepared to match his ambitions of where he wants to take them, he wouldn't be there.

How does he deal with the pressure because Spurs fans and the board probably won't give him much time to impress?

It's difficult to know how he'll deal with criticism because he didn't get much of it at Celtic. He's definitely got a switch and when it's pressed, you'll know about it. As I said before, he doesn't suffer fools gladly and his press conferences can be entertaining.

But in terms of the pressure, that won't faze him. Whatever you think of the Scottish Premiership as a league, the pressure of being an Old Firm manager is on a par with anything in world football - and Postecoglou handled that pretty well.

He's a winner, he thrives on that expectation to do well. I don't see it being any different at Spurs.

What do you think of the Postecoglou appointment? Have your say below!

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