Postecoglou on in-form Spurs trip to Brighton
04/10/2024
Tottenham way, London, UK
04/10/2024
Tottenham way, London, UK
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00:00You all right? Tired?
00:02Yeah, yeah, fair to say. We got in late last night, but yeah, all good.
00:07How are they looking? Team news for Sunday?
00:10Yeah, I guess first things first last night, all good.
00:15Obviously, the boys are fairly tired, but physically no issues from last night's game.
00:22And then out of the guys who sort of stayed back, Destiny, we think will be okay.
00:30We've obviously got training today and tomorrow, so he's got to get through that.
00:34Sonny, unlikely. Again, he's pushing hard, but I just don't think the turnaround will be quick enough
00:42for him to be available at this stage. And then that's it. The others are kind of long term.
00:49I remember a few years ago, Son was touch and go and he went on international duty, given what he's been saying.
00:55Is it fair to say he can rule Son out of international duty, do you think?
00:59Well, yeah, I mean, if he doesn't play for us, you know, as I said, it's not like he's close, then it makes sense.
01:06But, you know, again, we always have to be mindful, international duty, national teams take over.
01:12Yeah, the Custodians are their players, but we've given them all their medical information.
01:17They understand and they're understanding and Sonny knows the situation.
01:21I'm sure you're absolutely delighted for Dom Solanke to make the England squad.
01:25In terms of James Madison, who's had a really good start as well, you're a former international manager yourself,
01:29and he's an emotional guy and he speaks so well. What have you said or what will you say to him?
01:34Because I'm sure he'll be disappointed.
01:36Yeah, look, I'm sure he's disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, he's playing well.
01:42Sometimes that's all you can do and, you know, these things come along at times.
01:51It's not always perfect in your career and there are situations and circumstances that don't mean you always get what you want.
01:57But it shouldn't deter or detract from everything else you're doing.
02:02So he's playing really well for us. I think he's been outstanding all year.
02:06He's making an impact in every game he plays. He's a really important part of our midfield set-up.
02:11And if he continues to do that, I'm sure he'll get selected again.
02:14But, you know, you can't just sort of put everything in one basket of just being disappointed because you haven't missed out.
02:22I said that shouldn't have any effect on him and the way he's playing because he's been brilliant for us.
02:2850 games in charge of Spurs last night, flown by. Where do you see Spurs in 100 games under your management?
02:37Many wouldn't have said that I'd make 50, mate, even when I was on about 46.
02:45Look, it's obviously, you know, as managers, there's always a kind of ticking clock against our tenure at all times.
02:57Anytime you reach a sort of milestone, it's always, I guess, an indication of people still believing what you're trying to do.
03:06So it has flown by, to be fair. You know, it's obviously 15, 16 months, 50 games, but enjoy every one of them.
03:14And yeah, hopefully next 50 are ones where we can make a real impact.
03:21Hi, Ange. Great way to mark 50 games with Tottenham's best winning run for three and a half years.
03:26How close to the desired level is your team right now?
03:32Well, it's always kind of a shifting sort of measurement for us for scale in that, you know, every time you go on sort of any consistent run of form,
03:43I think we've been consistent all year. Obviously, the results in the last five games have got the rewards for the performance,
03:51but, you know, that always kind of makes you even more eager to keep pushing on and get better and see what level we can reach.
04:00I still think we're a developing side. You know, we're still very much a young side.
04:06You know, the squad's still, you know, developing together, which suggests whatever markers we set at the moment, we should be able to exceed.
04:17There's no doubt when you win games, like I said, we have in recent times, that belief and I guess that energy just accelerates.
04:27And the key to that is to keep it going. You know, you don't want to let it go.
04:31You want to work as hard as we have so far to keep this sort of momentum going.
04:37Looking ahead to Brighton, just wanted to ask you about Fabian Hertzler, 31 years old, younger than most, most people in this room.
04:44What do you make of the job he's done at Brighton? How impressive has he been?
04:48Yeah, great. I mean, he's 31. It's crazy. But, you know, I think that's about the age I started, albeit at not this level.
04:59Yeah, really impressive. He, you know, when he was coaching St Paul, he coached Jackson Irvine, who I had to Socceroos.
05:08He's a great player, but a fantastic person as well. And he actually reached out to us and said, Fabian likes what you're doing.
05:16Can you come pay a visit? He came and spent a day with us last year and he asked a hell of a lot of questions.
05:22And I gave him too many answers, that's for sure. If I'd have known he'd be Brighton manager, but you could tell he's just a real student of the game.
05:31You know, wanted as much knowledge, he was already sort of a senior manager and, you know, he got them promoted last year.
05:37So he was already doing a good job, but he was that, you could tell when somebody's got that sort of curiosity.
05:41And I think that's a key for all managers, I think, especially young ones is you, you got to maintain that, you know, it can get sucked out of you at times.
05:48Because you, when you get into the battle of, and particularly at this level of dealing with, you know, one crisis or another,
05:56you can forget that, you know, it's that curiosity to always, you know, find out more information.
06:02I think if he maintains that, you know, he'll be an outstanding manager, but he's, you know, he's done well.
06:07Look, it's probably a perfect fit for him because I think Brighton are a fantastic club.
06:11They're careful about who they put in as manager. There's usually an alignment there, which I wonder sometimes with other clubs,
06:20whether they even think about that stuff. So he's in a great place.
06:24Do you remember any of the questions he asked you?
06:26He asked us a lot. Yeah, no, I actually palmed him off at one stage because he was asking me too many.
06:30So I gave him to the other coaches, but yeah, but yeah, look, he was just inquisitive about everything, you know,
06:37obviously, like I said, he was already a senior manager, he was doing a good job.
06:41But the fact that he still wanted to ask, obviously had observed us and I'm sure other clubs as well.
06:47It wasn't just us, but yeah, made a real impression on everyone.
06:50Last trip to the Amex was one to forget for Tottenham. What did you learn from the defeat that day?
06:56Yeah, it was a curious one because again, it was one of those periods where we were a bit disrupted in terms of player availability and stuff.
07:06But we started the game really poorly, really open and then by the end of it, it could end up 4-4, you know, 5-4.
07:13But yeah, we didn't handle the occasion well, particularly early in the game.
07:17But, you know, it was kind of indicative of our season where there was some good stuff in there that got overshadowed by, you know,
07:25stuff that, you know, we really struggled with at times last year, just in terms of our consistency of performance.
07:30So, you know, so far the away games we've had this year, we've played really well.
07:37I mean, Leicester, we should have won. Newcastle thought we played really well, but didn't win.
07:42You know, obviously Man U, we played well there.
07:46So we're handling, you know, even last night playing away from home in Europe, I think we're handling those situations better.
07:51So we're going to have to do on the weekend too. Thanks.
07:56Hi Ange, how are you?
07:57I'm good, mate.
07:58Dominic Snanky's England call-up, are you personally surprised it's taken so long since his last international call-up to be called back into the England squad?
08:08How much is it vindication of the hard work you and he have put in at the beginning of the season?
08:13I don't know, surprised. I mean, like I said, with Dom, he's had to work awfully hard in his career.
08:20And it's a salient point to all young players that, you know, the trajectory doesn't always, you know, go in sort of a linear fashion where he started at big clubs.
08:34He was obviously, you know, he was a youth international.
08:36He was, you know, he obviously made an impact, but just for one reason or another, it didn't get started, but it didn't deter him.
08:42You know, he went to Bournemouth and he worked awfully hard and had a year in the championship.
08:46So there was, you know, I think there's reasons why he wasn't selected.
08:49Certainly his last, you know, 13, 14 months in terms of his goal-up output, even before that, especially last year in the Premier League, got him into the frame.
09:00Even for the Euros, he was probably really close to getting selected there.
09:04And it's all down to him, mate. I know about him for, what, a month.
09:09I've got zero to do with his achievements to get into the England team.
09:13It's to do with him and even the way he's handled his move here.
09:16You know, big club again for him.
09:20You know, obviously big expectations and, you know, unfortunately got injured.
09:26But since he's been back from that injury, he's been brilliant for us in all aspects and credit to him.
09:32But more exciting for me is I know there's a hell of a lot more to come.
09:36If I could tap into your experience at international level with footballers.
09:40Before the last gathering of the international break, under-21 level, Unai Emery was a bit critical that Morgan Rodgers was playing for the under-21s,
09:49questioning what he would learn from that.
09:51You got Archie Gray in the under-21s this time round, you had him last time as well.
09:55What do players like Archie learn from playing youth football in their countries?
10:01Yeah, I guess it depends. I think it's kind of, you know, I always think these things, you should kind of treat them on an individual basis.
10:09Because I think you have two different footballers at different levels in their career.
10:14And depending on sort of their workloads, international football can be a real benefit.
10:21I think Archie will benefit a lot from being with the under-21s.
10:25Because you've got to remember with Archie, he's really had one year of really senior football and that was at Championship level.
10:31He's kind of just breaking into this level now, Premier League level.
10:35And I think the more experiences we can give him at this young age, the better he'll be moving forward.
10:41But, you know, there could be another player who's already got that, you know, by 18, 19 has that experience.
10:48You know, has had two or three years of senior football.
10:50And I can understand maybe under-21 international football, particularly when you're talking about Premier League players and their workloads.
10:56You kind of think, is there a benefit? But I really think for the most part, you treat that on an individual basis.
11:01I'm always an advocate for international football because I've seen how much it helps young players develop.
11:06But again, you've always got to sort of measure that against kind of where they're at in their club situation.
11:13Finally, four teenagers started for you last night. I don't know if you didn't like the Ange...
11:18Don't need to say it, mate. Don't need to say it.
11:20I'm going to go with Poster Cogbury's prodigies.
11:24You even struggled to say it, to be fair. So, I don't think he's rolled off the tongue.
11:29In all seriousness, you are someone that puts trust in young players.
11:33And for a senior manager, other clubs, sometimes that doesn't happen. Why are you so, or how does that trust come about?
11:42I think most managers would like if they've got talented youngsters to use them.
11:49But I just think for us, where we are in terms of as a club, I think it's really important for what we're trying to build.
11:56Like I said, I've always felt that clubs that have sustainable success have a real strong underpinning of young players who grow with the team.
12:05So that invariably over a course of time, players move on and when you're looking for replacements, they're already here.
12:12Whether that's guys who are club trained, particularly say Mikey, Will's had a couple of years with us, or we're bringing them in.
12:23I said last night, the ones we bring in, we work really hard to get Archie and Lucas to our club.
12:29And part of that was me saying, look, you come to our club, we'll develop you and you will play, you'll get an opportunity.
12:35Now, it's easy for me to say that, get them to sign a contract and then three months later, they haven't played at all.
12:42And then come next window, I go again and speak to the next 18 year old and he turns around and says, well, actually, the evidence doesn't back up what you're saying.
12:52So I have that responsibility. But at the same time, they've earned it.
12:57And it's an easier decision for me to make when I see them every day and I say, well, I have no fear about throwing them out there in terms of they're ready for and they want to contribute.
13:07So, you know, it's always a balancing act. And, you know, for a club like ours, I understand how important it is, particularly for club trained players like Mikey, to make sure we keep that pathway open for them.
13:22Hi Ange, just wanted to follow up on Archie Gray. How was he so comfortable playing in so many different positions at such a young age?
13:30Well, he's got no choice because I'm putting him there and that's part of his development.
13:35But look, he's obviously, look, he probably helps. He comes from a footballing family. He's probably been exposed to football from the moment he was born.
13:45So I think he understands the game and, you know, he understands, he takes information really well.
13:50He's, you know, training, he's constantly looking for more and more information, which helps.
13:57And then he's got a great temperament, you know, he seems to take things in his stride and not let it, you know, affect him.
14:04I said last night, played him in two different positions, probably both aren't the least preferred for him.
14:10You know, I mean, he's played sort of right full back and midfield, but I had him at left centre back and left back last night.
14:16So, and I thought he did brilliantly again. So, but, you know, I'm not going to just put him at different positions.
14:23It's at the moment we're using him where we need him.
14:25And I think hopefully that gives him confidence and that's how much I trust him.
14:29But eventually, you know, we'll settle him into an area.
14:32But him playing at the moment, he's played, you know, he's played an FA Cup, Carabao Cup game away.
14:38He's played two European games. He's had exposure in the Premier League already in the sort of first 10 games of his tournament career.
14:45I think it's great for us.
14:46You spoke about Herzl visiting the training ground and picking your brains, etc.
14:51Do you find it quite beneficial as well when these coaches speak to you because you get to share ideas with them?
14:55Yeah, absolutely. We've had quite a number come through.
14:58I've always been open to it.
15:00I just don't think there's any real secrets in football.
15:03I think for the most part, everything you need to know is kind of out there, but I do enjoy it.
15:10I think it's good for my staff to be exposed to it as well.
15:13Because again, you know, football can become fairly insular.
15:18We all talk about trying to block the outside noise.
15:21So whatever noise you do get in becomes really important.
15:24So I think having, you know, we've had guys from all sorts of football clubs, different nationalities from different sports come in and spend a day with us.
15:33And I always enjoy it.
15:36And I think it works both ways.
15:39I'll finish this section with George, please.
15:41Angelo, when managers often talk about a rebuild, they sort of talk about suffering and going through a bit of pain.
15:47And I just wondered, the way you finished last season compared to the way you started this season,
15:51do you think you're almost possibly through that pain now when the good times are coming?
15:56What's the date?
15:58I reckon it was about 14 days ago that it didn't feel like that.
16:03It felt like there was still a lot of suffering, it seemed.
16:06It's just the way of the football world.
16:08It's a very, very fine line to what people's perception of how you're going is.
16:15And that's why you can't let that be your guide.
16:17You just can't, not in today's world.
16:19It doesn't mean you ignore everything because, you know, there's some probably astute observations as to how we're going and you need to address that.
16:28Some of that surrounds sort of whatever measurements we use to map our progress or, you know, what some people see is important to us.
16:38But ultimately, you've got to rely on something else other than where the spotlight is at the moment.
16:45And, you know, it didn't feel like that long ago that people were questioning everything I was doing.
16:51And nothing's changed 14 days later except for the results.
16:56But for me, even before that, I could see that the measurements we were looking for, we started the season well.
17:02There was some real growth in us.
17:04But it's not going to be a smooth road.
17:06You know, we're not at that stage of being a team where things are just going to sort of, you know, click all the time.
17:15We've still got to go through some, like you said, suffering or challenges.
17:19But that's important.
17:21You need to do that.
17:22Otherwise, you're never going to know how you're going to handle it.
17:26And I think so far we've handled it well.
17:28And one player who seems to be flourishing is Dejan Kunaseski.
17:32Can you just talk about how his sort of role has evolved in the team and the way you're playing him
17:37and just basically what's led to his good run of form this season?
17:40Yeah, Deke's been brilliant out of this world in many respects in terms of just what he's able to do in that sort of central role.
17:51You know, obviously we used him more as a wide player last year.
17:55Again, that's because we didn't have too many options out there.
17:58And, you know, it was the area he was most comfortable in.
18:00But when we started using him inside, I felt he felt that kind of unshackled him a little bit.
18:09And he's got an unbelievable capacity to run, you know, with and without the ball.
18:14His physical numbers are ridiculous.
18:17And he has the quality to hurt teams with that.
18:20So, you know, I think at times maybe playing out wide, he felt a bit suppressed
18:24because especially in our system, there's a lot of times where you've got to hold your position
18:27and just do the thing for the team but not be involved.
18:30And he's the kind of player who wants to be involved.
18:32So obviously when we brought a couple of wide players in this year, you know,
18:39I really sort of thought, you know, let's go with him inside.
18:43Obviously pre-season played him as a nine because we didn't have a nine.
18:46And even there he made an impact.
18:48And the beauty of Deke is I think he's sort of just getting started, you know.
18:54He's really, I think he enjoys the role.
18:56I think he can make a massive impact.
18:58And it just adds a different dimension to us because there isn't many players like him.
19:02And I know you joked about Fabian Herser asking too many questions.
19:06But in all seriousness, if you knew he was going to be a Premier League manager this season,
19:10would you have still invited him into the training ground last season?
19:13Yes, mate. I would. I would.
19:16I think there's nothing wrong with being a nice person.
19:18Like I said, you know, if somebody comes and knocks on your door and wants a cup of tea
19:26and, you know, you kind of, as a kindred spirit, you let him in your house, mate.
19:31It's all right. He's not going to take the furniture or steal the cutlery.
19:36You kind of trust that.
19:37So, yes, I would have let him in, mate. No problem.
19:40Thanks, Rog.