Ange Postecoglou responds to critics who accuse him of not adapting and reiterates his belief that Tottenham are on the path towards success.
The Tottenham boss’ critics have often accused him of being a one-trick pony and not adapting to the demands of each game.
While it is true that Postecoglou does not abandon his principles, he has demonstrated this season that he remains switched on and is capable of making smart tactical tweaks, with his substitutions working more often than not.
He demonstrated his acumen once again against Manchester City, bringing James Maddison into the starting eleven and moving Dejan Kulusevski to the right, a decision which was once again vindicated.
Postecoglou has now remarked that his commitment to certain beliefs about how the game should be played does not prevent him from adapting to the challenges that
The 59-year-old told Football.London: “I’m always reflecting. I don’t think I would have lasted this long if I was just… and I know people try to paint me as one-dimensional, there are certain beliefs that I have that I won’t waver on, but within that process, there are always things [I adapt], because there are different challenges wherever you go,” he said.
“I just think the games we’ve really got stuck in this year, where we’ve really struggled to find solutions in games, I’m thinking about Brighton second half, Palace and Ipswich, where we didn’t really have solutions out there. The solutions do exist, they exist within our football but maybe the way I’m messaging that – that’s the reflective bit for me.
“There’s always self-reflection. I am steadfast and I am clear that I have some really strong principles that I just won’t budge on, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel at times I need to adapt in the way I deliver things or the way I work.”
It is sometimes easy to forget that Ange Postecoglou took over a Tottenham side which finished eighth and lost their record goalscorer in Harry Kane. The Tottenham head coach is perhaps a victim of his own early success at Spurs, but he rejects that notion.
When asked if the brilliant start he had to his spell at Spurs last season sometimes works against him, Postecoglou responded: “No, because it was what it was. That’s become a millstone because I started too well. What was I supposed to do? Start crap, and everyone says ‘oh they’ve improved?’ We were riding a bit of a wave, with new enthusiasm, but a lot of those games were very close mate.
“Last-minute goal against Sheffield United. One or two of those go differently and our season doesn’t look that much better. So you understand that context. I didn’t get carried away with that, nor have I sort of lost any belief in what we’re doing just because we’re where we are now.
“That’s always my view on these things, I won’t just look at what’s in front of us right now. I look at the totality of what we’re trying to do. I firmly believe we’re on the right path. I firmly believe in this squad of players. I firmly believe we will have success. Those things are still there but I can see why outwardly, if you put a pin in it right now, it doesn’t look that way.”
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