Ange Postecoglou has described his dismissal from Tottenham as “unusual” primarily because it marked the first time in his career that he had experienced such treatment having won silverware weeks earlier. The 60-year-old brought an end to Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought by guiding the club to Europa League glory against Manchester United in Bilbao last May.
Nevertheless, Postecoglou found himself relieved of his duties just weeks later due to the club’s disappointing 17th-place Premier League finish, as he had prioritised the European campaign – a strategy that failed to impress certain figures within the Tottenham boardroom. Thomas Frank succeeded him at N17, whilst Postecoglou has now secured fresh employment after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as head coach of Nottingham Forest. During his inaugural press conference on Thursday, he reflected on his Spurs exit.
“It was unusual because it’s never happened to me before,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve been sacked. It’s the first time I’ve had an off-season off. You wonder about the next opportunity. What I did know was I really keen to go to a club that would give me the platform to continue what I’ve been doing in my career.
“If you asked me at the start of the year if a job with Nottingham Forest was a possibility then I’d have said no because of the job Nuno had done. The opportunity presented itself and I was here to take it.”
Reflecting on his departure from Spurs, he said: “It wasn’t great, I knew it was coming before the final. It wasn’t a surprise. We had the parade but I knew it was done. From my perspective you have a chance to process that.
“We put the Spurs supporters through some tough times but there isn’t a Spurs fan that I have come across that doesn’t hug me and want to take me out for dinner, so I must have done something right!”.
Discussing his succession of Nuno, another former Tottenham manager, he commented: “It’s the nature of football. You don’t really know what circumstances you’ll take over. Until Steve Cooper took over the club, they weren’t looking as though they were going to be in the Premier League. They’ve had two excellent managers who have done fantastic work.
“You certainly don’t know when these things come to an end. I certainly didn’t think I would finish up after winning a trophy.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk