Spurs’ Postecoglou on criticism: ‘I’m not a clown’
Ange Postecoglou has hit out criticism by insisting “I am not a clown”, as speculation mounts over his future at Tottenham Hotspur.
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Postecoglou: “I’m not a clown”
Tottenham will look to end their 17-year wait for a major trophy in Wednesday’s Europa League final against Manchester United.
A victory would help salvage an otherwise dismal season, with the club enduring a record 21 Premier League defeats.
Additionally, Tottenham is currently languishing in 17th place.
Sources have told ESPN that manager Ange Postecoglou is facing a daunting battle to save his job.
One report suggested that Wednesday’s match could define the 59-year-old as either a “hero or a clown.”
“I’ll tell you one thing: irrespective of what happens tomorrow, I’m not a clown and I never will be,” Postecoglou said.
“I’m really disappointed that you would use such terminology about a person who for 26 years without any favours from anyone has worked his way to a position where he’s leading out a club in a European major competition [final].
“For you to suggest that somehow us not being successful means that I’m a clown … [I’m] not really sure how to answer that question.”
“Does it matter? Really? It doesn’t matter because the reality of it is the opportunity is the same, for me and more importantly for the club.
“I’ve said before that whatever happens beyond tomorrow is kind of irrelevant when you think about the opportunity that exists right now.
“That opportunity is to provide something special for the football club and for the supporters and for everyone who has worked so hard, not just this year but for the 15, 16 years, however long it has been without a trophy and also the 41 years without a European trophy.
“If I was worried about my tenure at this football club, it’s fair to say we wouldn’t have been in this position because I would have been distracted long ago.”
The job continues despite potentially winning trophy
Sources have told ESPN that the club’s hierarchy has grown increasingly concerned about the team’s domestic slump.
The Australian coach is aware that his job is the on the line, regardless of their Europa League campaign.
Still, Postecoglou knows that ending Tottenham’s trophy drought is not the end-all, be-all for him and the club.
“No, because I don’t think my job is done here,” he admitted. “I really feel like we’re building something and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerates that.”
“I still think there’s a lot of work to be done. The challenges we’ve had this year are well chronicled, but there’s been some reasoning in that and there’s also been growth I’d like to see through, but whether that happens or not is not that important right now.
“I think this job is far from finished. There’s some growth there to take this club where it needs to be.”
