Former Manchester United and England defender Paul Parker has been talking about Ange Postecoglou’s move from Celtic to become the new manager of the success-starved Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and he reckons that this season is going to be a struggle for Spurs.
Regardless of the Premier League riches, Parker is adamant that Celtic is a bigger club that Tottenham and he believes that the adage that ‘you can’t teach old dogs new tricks’ is apt for the transformation that the 57 year-old Australian is hoping to achieve in his first Premier League job.
“Now, he is walking into a job that people will say is bigger than Celtic, which is true because they don´t have as many problems as Celtic,” Parker said, as reported by bettors.
“But Celtic is a bigger club and they are a better supported club. Celtic is one of the best supported clubs in the world and now he is not having that anymore,” Parker said.
“But now he will have fans behind him that are dying to win something because recent managers played as they were scared to lose even though they were supposed to be winners.”
The former England defender, who spent time in Australia, knows all about Ange Postecoglou and respects him as a top quality coach. However the challenges at Spurs are such that that are going to take time – and money – to overcome.
And of course time is not something that Premier League managers get these days, last season seeing a record number of sackings, which as you will recall usually resulted in Ange Postecoglou being linked with the latest vacancy.
“But I still think that the club is going to struggle in the beginning of the season, because they have the exact same problem as Man United. They have a lot of old dogs in the squad, who can’t do any more new tricks,” Parker added.
“I believe he will make a big difference but it will take time. But he believes in himself because he is a god now in Australia, because of the fact that he is actually managing a Premier League club. Football is not the biggest sport in Australia but he might actually make a difference to how football is seen in Australia,” Parker stated.
“With him being there, we could see the interest of football grow in Australia. They have had great players like Harry Kewell but now they actually have a manager in the Premier League and that will make a big difference.”
If Ange Postecoglou turns Tottenham around in the same way he did at Celtic in his first season he is going to be hugely popular in London as he was in Glasgow. At Celtic he was given the full support of CEO Michael Nicholson and the Celtic Board who had already outlined the financial restraints that a club like Celtic has. He needs that level of support and trust at Tottenham and whether that happens – and it’s crucial for Ange to succeed – is not down to him but instead to Daniel Levy.
It’s going to be an interesting watch.
