Ange Postecoglou has revealed the difficulties that accompanied his position as Celtic manager while denying claims that his Role at Tottenham Hotspur is a ‘step-up’ from Celtic.
In a recent press conference, the former Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou dismissed claims that managing at Celtic was a step down from his current role at Spurs. While it is true that the English Premier League has a larger volume of top-tier clubs, Ange insisted that ‘every challenge is the same’. He makes the point that when managing Celtic, coming second is the same as coming last, it is imperative to win and win in the correct manner as well. He also jokingly quips that if he finished second at Celtic, he would be out of a job. The Spurs boss said…
“I don’t know about step-ups. I had the same question when I got to the SPFL but I coached at a World Cup so I’ve coached in different leagues. I think every challenge is the same, to be honest, it’s relative to the competition you are in.”
“I have never gone into any job thinking, ‘This is going to be easy’ in comparison to anything else I’ve done. It’s going to be a massive challenge, absolutely, but Celtic was a massive challenge.”
“I know people sort of say in Scotland if you’re Celtic you are either going to finish first or second but second is last, second I’m not in a job.”
“You have to finish first. Irrespective of what outside thoughts are there is still a demand there. And it’s not just about winning, it’s the manner in which you win as well.”
“There is an expectation around the way you play your football, particularly me. I am pretty explicit in saying I want my teams to play in a certain way so that has to be reflective in how we do things.”
“I’ve never seen anything I’ve done as a step up, I just see it as a different challenge, a different set of circumstances. What other people perceive as a step up in level, you’re working with better players, a bigger organisation, and more resources. All those kinds of things are relative.”
“I don’t dismiss any success at any level for anybody in life because I can guarantee you that even at the lowest levels of what we perceive whether that’s football or life, somebody is grafting to be successful against the relative competition so I have never seen it as a step up I just see it as a new challenge for me.”
