Ange Postecoglou was reminded that Spurs have failed to lift a major trophy in almost 16 years during his first press conference – and his response has earned widespread praise from fans.
It was confirmed last month that Postecoglou will take charge of the North London club after leaving his role at Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.
The 57-year-old, who was Australia's senior national team manager from 2013 to 2017, has so far made a great impression on both chairman Daniel Levy and the Tottenham fanbase.
Advert
Speaking in his first interview as Spurs manager, Postecoglou delivered an encouraging message to their supporters.
He promised to "create an environment that embodies the values and traditions of this fantastic football club" before assuring fans that he would leave "no stone unturned" ahead of their Premier League opener against Brentford.
A month after giving the above interview and, for the first time as Spurs manager, Postecoglou was introduced to the press ahead of their upcoming tour to Australia and Asia.
Advert
As well as speaking about the return of Tanguy Ndombele and a number of other squad changes, he delivered a great response when a reporter reminded him that Tottenham hadn't won a major trophy for almost 16 years.
“You’ve painted a pretty bleak picture. I was excited about this role!” he joked.
"But to be fair, that's why I'm here. That's what I love about it, all those things that are not here. And that's what I want to bring. I want to bring success, bring European football. I want this club to be where it deserves to be."
You can watch his response in full below:
He added: “As much as the excitement around joining a massive football club in in the best competition in the world was attractive to me, the biggest thing about it was that there's an enormous challenge here.
Advert
“I love that. That's what I've done my whole career. Every club I've taken over, it's been after a disappointing season. For me, that's the thing that I've cherished most.
“Most of my career is to do things that will last, make a difference, to create something that hopefully stays beyond my tenure because I won't be here forever. So that kind of scenario you paint, where we are at the moment, is what attracted me most about this role.
“What a great challenge, but what a great story if we get it right. So what does success look like? I think the fans will tell me that at the end of the season.”
Here's how fans on social media reacted to Postecoglou's response.
Advert
One said: "It's incredibly irritating that he's coaching Spurs because I cannot help but root for him. He's a brilliant coach," while another commented: "Yet another answer that’ll motivate his players & get fans on his side. Ange should just teach press conference classes at this point."
A third wrote: "Insane how quickly and how hard I have fallen for the Postecoglou revolution. We're winning the lot."
A fourth added: "Unless he does a full 180 and starts being a pragmatist (which seems highly unlikely given everything he says), he’s got my full support. We finally have a real human being in charge of our club again."
The 57-year-old also impressed when asked about the uncertain future of Harry Kane, who has been heavily linked with a move to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in recent weeks.
Advert
"No, I haven't had any assurances [over Kane's future] and I wouldn't expect any assurances because with these kind of things you're never dealing in definites or certainties," he said.
"I'm trying to concentrate on the things that I know right now, and what I know right now is that Harry's part of this squad. He's looking forward to coming back to training, getting among the players back in here and we start working together.
Postecoglou added: "If I spend too much time worrying about the impact that it may have either way, I'm going to miss trying to build a team because ultimately that's what's going to make us successful.
"If we build a team that plays football a certain way. I'm not going to miss this initial opportunity to lay down what I know is going to be important in the long term.
"What's important in the long term goes beyond individuals. It's more about overriding philosophy on who we want to be as a team and the key people within that."
Finally, Postecoglou sent a message to his players.
"Be open-minded and not bogged down by expectation and history. We are going to go down a different road. Not because it's better, just because it's me and that's what I do. It won't change where we're heading, it might derail it for a little bit although I won't allow it to be for long and it's about who wants to get on this train so we can get to our destination.
Featured Image Credit: Football Daily/GettyTopics: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Ange Postecoglou, England
