Ange Postecoglou could not hide his smirk when the question came about whether his record of second-season success is about to continue in north London. “Dunno,” the Tottenham manager said. “I expect what I expect all the time, mate. To do my job and see what that brings. But I would suggest that it’s not by accident. We’ll improve and see where that takes us.”
After a summer of relative calm in comparison with his arrival before the start of last season, there was a clear sense of optimism as the straight-talking Australian, who was one of the more insightful pundits employed by ITV at Euro 2024, laid out his expectations for the new campaign in the build-up to their opening match, against Leicester on Monday night.
This time last year, amid the emotional departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, it was all about steadying the ship after the stormy reign of Antonio Conte. But with a replacement for the club’s record goalscorer now secured in the form of Dominic Solanke – signed from Bournemouth for an initial club record fee of £55 million (€64.5 million) that could rise to £65m – and a fully fit squad at his disposal, it is no wonder that Postecoglou fancies Spurs’ chances of improving on the fifth-place finish of last season.
While it may be stretching things to imagine that they can go all the way, as Postecoglou was able to achieve in the five previous jobs where he lasted longer than 12 months, there is certainly expectation that Tottenham can sustain a serious challenge for a top-four finish. Starting with his first senior post at South Melbourne and encompassing his spells in charge of Brisbane Roar, the Australia national team – who he led to Asian Cup glory in 2015 – Yokohama Marinos and Celtic, winning league titles in his second season at clubs has become a habit for the 58-year-old coach. But he will know that translating that to the Premier League will be his toughest assignment yet given the competition.
Not that Tottenham can be accused of failing to spend big to back their manager: the purchase of Solanke and the teenagers Wilson Odobert, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall meant they have outlaid significantly more than £100m on new players after the departure of several more experienced faces such as Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. But it is in Solanke, whose transfer is the Premier League’s most expensive this summer, that Postecoglou has placed most faith as the 26-year-old tries to fill the shoes of Kane after scoring 19 goals for Bournemouth last season.
“My role in all signings is pretty small – I just make the decision. I’m the one that says yes or no,” Postecoglou said on the influence he had on the move. “They’re here because I want them here and Dom certainly fits that. I thought he did well against us [last season] and gave us some problems that a lot of other strikers in the league maybe didn’t give us. His mobility and his movement was really impressive. It’s no secret that we love to press and he has a great work ethic. And he can score goals. He’s a presence and he scores different types of goals. I think the way we play suits him.”
Perhaps more important, Postecoglou also sees Solanke’s determination to return to the highest level after starting his career at Chelsea and then moving to Liverpool as a positive.
“I really like where he was in his career,” he said. “I’m a big one on understanding people and their motivations – obviously he was an outstanding young player and he went to some big clubs where it didn’t work out for him. But what do you do in that scenario? Do you think: ‘Well it’s never going to happen for me’? Or do you try to work your way back up? He’s done remarkably well to get himself back to a position where he’s scored 19 goals in the Premier League last year. It’s a fair feat and he’s got himself back to a big club. I love that aspect because I know he’s got the right kind of mentality.”
Freeing Son Heung-min from the central role he struggled with last season was high among Postecoglou’s priorities this summer, with the arrival of Solanke and return to fitness of Richarlison after he had surgery on a pelvic injury over the summer giving Spurs plenty of firepower.
“As much as the injuries at the back last year cost us, I still felt it was up front that we were most short and the area that we needed to improve on,” said Postecoglou. “Richie when he played was outstanding but he had a lot of injuries so we had to play Sonny inside. It was Brennan [Johnson]’s first year at the club. Going into the season having Dom and Richie there with that real physical presence will be important. I think we look a much better team with Sonny out on the left. That’s the exciting bit – we’re looking for improvement in the final third and I think we have by bringing Dom in.” – Guardian
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