Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged that he is happy with the speed at which the Tottenham players have grasped the expectations of his style of play and adjusted accordingly.
Postecolgou has already shown in the few months he has been a Tottenham player that he will never give up on his preferred attacking strategy, under any situation.
Two weeks ago, in the second half of the London derby against Chelsea, the Lilywhites, down to nine men, yet managed to press their opponents high up the pitch and play a high line. That was unquestionably evidence of that.
Responses to those strategies have been conflicted; while some, like Jamie Carragher (Sky Sports), have praised Postecoglou for his daring, others, like Glenn Hoddle (talkSPORT), have criticized him for being foolish.
Ange Postecoglou is feeling good despite defeats
“As flat as we were because we lost the game, you don’t like losing, then we knew the fallout and what it would do for us, I said to the coaches, ‘This is a great opportunity we’ve got,'” the Tottenham head coach remarked in reference to the team’s 4-1 loss to the Blues, as reported by Optus Sport. Guys who were previously not interested in our plans are now fully committed.
Right now, we’re considering our next course of action. They’ll start asking why we played a high line, why we were so aggressive, and why we didn’t try to take the pressure if we falter. What we do from this point on is crucial.
“To be honest, if not for the consequences of losing those players, that night alone would have been fantastic. Any positives should be set aside at that point because the team has lost several key players.
Throughout his managerial career, Postecoglou has frequently had sluggish stars at his teams, requiring players to adjust to his style gradually.
The 58-year-old said, “I don’t know if surprised is the right word, but I’m pleased about it,” in response to the question of whether he has been surprised by how quickly the Spurs players have adopted his ideas.
“There are a few reasons for that: the caliber of players I have here right now have the ability to accept it in a technical sense. Not to disparage clubs I’ve visited in the past, but it was usually the most difficult part.
“Here, it’s a given that they will buy in, but sometimes their technical ability prevented them from doing so.” In terms of technical skill, every player in this room is at the highest level.
The next step is to persuade the group to accept it. The coaches have been fantastic in supporting our preferred style of play; even players I have never worked with before have shown a great commitment to my goals.
The fact that there are players with the capacity to do it, as well as coaches who support them, makes it work incredibly well together. When you experience early success, it reinforces itself.
The terrible manner in which Conte’s reign came to an end was the one thing that may have aided Ange in winning over the entire team. The Australian was exactly the kind of coach the team would have wanted—they were desperate for the freedom to express themselves.
