Ange Postecoglou cut an irritated figure as he insisted he’s ‘not a clown’ in response to an article about his Tottenham Hotspur legacy.
Postecoglou has guided Spurs to the showpiece event against Manchester United in Bilbao on Wednesday night, live on talkSPORT amid a difficult season domestically.
3
The Australian conducted his media duties the day before and spoke to members of the press ahead of the biggest game of their season.
Dan Kilpatrick of The Standard asked Postecoglou about whether he is ‘walking a fine line’ between a successful and disastrous campaign.
However, the Spurs boss seemingly referenced his article that said he is ‘teetering between hero and clown’ in a fiery response.
“That depends on your outlook Dan,” he said. “But I’ll tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown, I never will be mate.
READ MORE ON THE EUROPA LEAGUE
“Really disappointed you used such terminology about a person who for 26 years, without any favours from anyone, has worked his way to be in a position where he’s leading a club in a European major competition.
“For you to suggest that, somehow, us not being successful means that I’m a clown, not really sure how to answer that question.”
Spurs haven’t won a major trophy since 2008 and are sitting 17th in the Premier League with one game to play in a dismal season.
Victory against United, who are just one spot above them, would be a saving grace for the club.
talkSPORT understands that Postecoglou isn’t guaranteed to remain at Tottenham, even if they do win the Europa League.
But the 59-year-old, who previously insisted he wins trophies in his second season at a club, isn’t bothered by speculation over his future.
3
“My future is assured mate, don’t… I wouldn’t be the first person who changes jobs mate, we all change jobs, I’m sure you’ve had more than one job,” he said later in the press conference.
“My future’s assured. I’ve got a beautiful family, I’ve got a great life, I’ll keep on winning trophies until I finish, wherever that is.
“So, don’t worry about my future, mate. My future is not tied with anything, my future is assured.
“Provided, God willing, my health remains, my beautiful family is beside me, my friends, there’s nothing wrong with my future mate.”
Postecoglou was responding to talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook and jokingly told him: “Don’t stress mate. Sleep easy at night, I’ll be okay.”
Crook then asked if there’s a scenario where Spurs win the Europa League and Postecoglou feels like his job is done at the club, but he said: “No.
3
“I don’t think my job is done here. I really feel like we’re building something and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerate that.
“I still think there’s a lot of work to be done, that’s quite obvious with the challenges we’ve had this year, which I think are well-chronicled.
“But I think there’s some reasoning in the context of that, but also there’s been some growth and I’d like to see through that.
“Whether that happens or not, it’s not that important right now. But I don’t think this job’s finished, I certainly feel like there’s some growth there that we can take this club to where it needs to be.”
