Footage of Ange Postecoglou furiously calling his team to account for a defensive mistake has resonated with Tottenham fans as the Australian manager informed his Celtic club that he wants to take the top job at Spurs.
The 57-year-old just sent Celtic to the domestic treble after beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-1 in the Scottish Cup final last weekend, Celtic’s eighth clean sweep.
Now his focus is reportedly on Tottenham Hotspur, with the embattled Premier League outfit set to make a formal approach for his services on Monday.
It is increasingly likely that the former Socceroos manager will join Spurs, having informed Celtic’s top management, including Dermot Desmond, of his desire to join the struggling side.
Tottenham crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup this season, finishing the Premier League season in eighth place, well below expectations.
That led to the club parting ways with former manager Antonio Conte in March.
Postecoglou was a revelation at Celtic, leading them to a record eighth clean sweep of Scottish titles as they won the treble last weekend
Postecoglou wasn’t afraid to give the Socceroos some tough love during his tenure as head coach of the Australian national team
The Aussie manager has a huge decision to make, and Tottenham Hotspur is expected to make a formal offer for his services on Monday
In light of the news, footage has resurfaced of Postecoglou spraying Australia’s national team, the Socceroos, for centuries after a World Cup qualifying loss.
‘We have to be better. That’s just careless,” you can hear Postecoglou say as he bangs his fist on the screen.
‘Stop that, Pete. There’s one, two, three [of you].
“We can’t get a goal against that. There must be a reaction there. Someone! “F**k’s sake!”
After a very long pause, Postecoglou roars, “Do you want to be a super soft team?”
The video has some Spurs fans excited, as they believe the Aussie’s no-nonsense approach is exactly what the players have been missing.
“I think he would give them the good old kick in the ass they might need to get the best out of themselves,” said one fan.
“I’d love to be a fly on the wall at Spurs if this happened,” said another.
“Ange Postecoglou could be the change Tottenham Hotspur need to pull their players out of their complacency and push them to the Championship,” added one optimistic fan.
Antonio Conte and Tottenham split in March after the former manager attacked the players, the club itself and the owners
Success has long followed Jose Mourinho, but he couldn’t repeat his Midas touch with Tottenham in 2019-2021
England skipper Harry Kane looks dejected after another disappointing Tottenham loss
Spurs players have already faced tough love from former coaches in recent years.
Jose Mourinho was filmed ranting at Tottenham’s for ages Everything or nothing documentary in 2020.
Our biggest problem is one, missing s**t passes! F**king sloppy, f**king slow, pass back when the pass should be in front… It’s sloppy,” he said.
Then Conte took aim at his players, the club and its owners in an extraordinary radius.
“We are 11 players on the field. I see selfish players, I see players who don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart,” he said after a draw against Southampton on March 19.
But some Tottenham fans fear a destructive spray behind closed doors, such as the one Postecoglou delivered to the Socceroos, could lead to players walking out of the club.
“All the big egos would be out the door as soon as he arrives,” one fan posted.
“I’m so for him now lol but expect the ‘manager to be tough on players’ story to surface six months into his tenure,” said another.
“Our players will certainly cry,” added another.
Postecoglou and Celtic captain Callum McGregor celebrate winning the Scottish Cup to seal historic Scottish treble
McGregor understands that the club will most likely be parting ways with their inspirational manager and that the players will need to be flexible.
It seems Celtic players have already resigned themselves to losing Postecoglou too, with skipper Callum McGregor warning they need to be ‘flexible’.
“He’s done such a great job. The turnaround since he came in has been incredible. People probably didn’t expect this to happen so soon,” he said.
“But he’s a guy who’s super confident. He knows what it means to be with this football club.
“It means bringing success and he managed to do it in such a great way.
“Of course, selfishly for us, we want to keep him. You never know how football works. One thing about football is that you have to be flexible.
“If it happens, what a parting gift [with the Treble].’