Postecoglou Responds to Criticism: “I’m Not a Clown”
Coach Ange Postecoglou has responded forcefully to criticism of his management, assuring that “he is not a clown.” The coach also promised to continue achieving success, no matter where he is. These statements arise amid speculation about his future at Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham seeks to break a 17-year drought without major titles in the Europa League final against Manchester United. A victory in this match could be crucial to salvage a season marked by a disappointing performance in the Premier League, where the team has suffered a record of 21 defeats and is in seventeenth position.
Sources indicate that Postecoglou faces a difficult situation to keep his position. It has been suggested that Wednesday’s match could define his trajectory, considering him a “hero or a clown” depending on the result in Bilbao.
“I assure you of something: regardless of what happens tomorrow, I am not a clown and I will never be one,” Postecoglou stated in a press conference prior to the match. “I am very disappointed that they use that terminology about a person who, for 26 years, without favors from anyone, has worked to reach a position where he leads a club in an important European competition.”
Ange Postecoglou
Faced with questions about his future, despite having a two-year contract, Postecoglou replied: “Does it matter? It really doesn’t matter, because the opportunity is the same, for me and, most importantly, for the club.”
“I said before that what happens after tomorrow is irrelevant when you think about the opportunity that exists now. That opportunity is to provide something special for the club and for the fans, and for everyone who has worked so hard, not just this year, but for 15 or 16 years, or however long it’s been, without a trophy, and also 41 years without a European trophy,” he added.
Sources indicate that the club’s directive is increasingly concerned about the team’s performance at the national level, despite its progress in Europe. Postecoglou hinted that he could be dismissed.
“I’ve been in this situation before, where the big game was the last one I managed,” he said. “It’s not unusual territory for me. I’ve always handled it pretty well because for me nothing is more important than my responsibility to this football club and its fans, that tomorrow, the players and I, only have one thing in mind, which is to create something special.”
“I qualified for a World Cup and left. I won the treble with Celtic and left. I won in Brisbane and left. It’s more common than you think. My future is assured. I wouldn’t be the first person to change jobs, we all change jobs. I have a wonderful family, a great life, I will continue winning trophies until I finish, wherever that may be, don’t worry about my future, my future is not tied to anything, my future is assured.”
Postecoglou insists that winning a title for Tottenham would not be enough to leave the position satisfied.
“No, because I don’t think my work is done here,” he admitted. “I really feel like we’re building something and a trophy, hopefully, accelerates that. I still think there’s a lot of work to be done. The challenges we’ve had this year are well documented, but there’s been some reasoning in that and there’s also been growth that I’d like to see, but whether that happens or not, it’s not that important now. I think this work is far from finished. There’s some growth to take this club to where it needs to be.”
