Tottenham have reportedly decided to sack Ange Postecoglou just weeks after he led the club to the Europa League trophy, claiming their first piece of major silverware in 17 years. The Aussie had garnered considerable support from the fanbase after the famous victory in Bilbao, but a 17th-placed Premier League finish has ultimately proven impossible to ignore for chairman Daniel Levy.
Postecoglou guided Spurs not only to a historic night in Spain by winning the Europa League, but he also secured the club Champions League football next year in the process. He received backing from the dressing room and supporters, but Levy is still ready to wield the axe despite the possibility of major backlash from the Spurs fanbase, according to The Telegraph. They claim that confirmation is expected imminently that the Aussie has been sacked.
Spurs lost 22 of 38 league games, picking up 38 points in total after a 4-1 thrashing at home by Brighton on the final day of the season. But James Maddison led the calls for Postecoglou to remain in charge next season.
“We are behind the manager 100 per cent,” said midfielder Maddison. “I think he’s a great man. We have had a poor season, especially in the league. We’ve been very good in Europe, but the league season has been unacceptable.
“He’s my manager, he’s my gaffer and I respect him an awful amount. The narrative [of Postecoglou’s job being under threat] is something we players are trying to keep away from because it’s not healthy.”
Postecoglou, who declared during the club’s trophy parade that similarly to TV shows “season three is better than season two”, was also bemused at the constant questions put to him during press conferences about his future.
“How do I assess the season? Outstanding,” he said after defeat to Brighton in the final game of the season. “We won a trophy which we haven’t done for 17 years and we’re in the Champions League.
“I’ll be honest, I’m finding it weird to be talking about my future when we’ve done something unprecedented. I made decisions I felt gave us the best chance of achieving the goal we needed to achieve and that has affected our league form. If people don’t want to take that into account, then there is nothing I can say.”
