Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham Hotspur are much better prepared for the upcoming season than they were for the 2023-24 campaign, revealing that pre-season has been a lot smoother than last year.
Postecoglou essentially had a free hit last season since he was walking into the club at a tumultuous time and the expectations were low, particularly after the loss of Harry Kane.
However, that is not the case this time around, with supporters now looking for signs of progress from last season, with a top-four finish now being expected of the side.
Postecoglou has been without many of his key players for pre-season while the fact that Tottenham have also failed to complete their key signings early is not ideal for the Australian.
However, the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven linked up with the Tottenham squad at the start of this week, with Postecoglou admitting that the quality of training has stepped up as a result.
When asked about pre-season so far and about having the internationals back, the Spurs boss told Football.London: “It has been pretty good, pretty solid. Tour was good and well organised, less disruptive than last season’s pre-season in terms of training.
“The games were really good and each game was a little bit more of a challenge for us and conditions were tough. Players got through it really well and like you say we’ve got the internationals back this week.
“We’ve had a really good week of training with them back, they help with the quality and intensity of our training. The key thing for us is getting up to date.
“We’ve got eight days to go, we’ve put in a good block of work and for the most part everyone is pretty healthy which from our point of view is the most important thing.”
When asked if the squad is in a better place compared to last season, Postecoglou responded: “I feel better prepared for sure because this time last year there were still a lot of things happening, comings and goings.
“Like I said, our pre-season tour was pretty disruptive and we probably didn’t have the games we wanted to. It was a little bit of a leap into the unknown whereas I think it feels like we’re better prepared.
“The training sessions have gone up a notch this year compared to last year and that’s because of player familiarity and the coaches we have. I think everyone thinks they’ve had a fantastic pre-season but until we get to that first game none of us really know. As I sit here right now, I think we’re well prepared.”
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Ange had to implement a brand new philosophy and style of play when he arrived through the door last year. The situation now is completely different, with the players already having a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The Tottenham boss will hope to hit the ground running at the start of the campaign.
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