Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou would have done things differently had he known the atmosphere on Tuesday
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Center, London, UK
Tottenham Hotspurs Training Center, London, UK
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00:00 What you said is well as the game itself.
00:03 Um, no, no.
00:07 Um, no, like I said, for me it's,
00:12 I just think when, when you're trying to
00:17 achieve at this level, whatever it is you're trying to achieve,
00:20 you have to be totally focused on, on that objective.
00:23 You can't get distracted, like by anything.
00:26 Like whether it's, you know, this time it was sort of the,
00:29 you know, whatever the issue was, but next time it'll be another issue.
00:32 Like there'll always be something that will try and drag you away.
00:36 And that's why I keep going, the discipline is to say,
00:38 well, no, actually what the most important thing is that
00:40 we prepare ourselves for victory and everyone's aligned in that.
00:43 And when everyone's aligned in that, um,
00:46 you've got a better chance of success.
00:48 But if, if you're not, if people are sort of,
00:51 oh, geez, we've got to deal with this, we've got to deal with that.
00:53 And, oh, what about this?
00:55 I mean, I just don't, I just don't think you can be truly successful
00:59 at this level, um, with the margins that you need to be, um,
01:04 if, if you get distracted.
01:06 Did you feel people inside the club weren't aligned and were distracted?
01:10 Was that, was that?
01:12 I, I, I, I, I mean that's...
01:14 I'm just trying to get in your head, to be able to just...
01:16 Yeah, but hold on a sec, Dan, hold on a sec, Dan.
01:18 I sat in here and all the questions I got were about that.
01:20 Of course people, I'm distracted.
01:22 Like, it's, it's, we're human beings, mate, so of course.
01:26 It's not like, but do you want me to say there's a culprit in there
01:29 that caused everything, the other...
01:31 It doesn't, that doesn't happen, mate.
01:33 It's not, it's not how it works.
01:35 All I'm saying is that there's always going to be issues
01:37 and how you deal with them and how we deal with them as a football club
01:41 is going to be important.
01:43 And until you go through these experiences, so, OK,
01:46 you want a culprit? It's me.
01:48 Because I didn't take it seriously.
01:50 That's where I think happened.
01:52 I just didn't really understand what was going on.
01:55 I just didn't think that that was the case.
01:57 If I had my time again, yes, I would do things differently.
02:00 I would address the media differently the day before.
02:03 I probably would address people in the club
02:06 'cause they're looking for me for direction.
02:08 So, if you want to head on a stick, it's my ugly mug, mate, so there you go.
02:13 Thanks. Darren?
02:15 I'm sitting here listening to you, I can't help feeling...
02:19 I can't help feeling you're being incredibly hard on yourself.
02:21 You've worked up in Scotland, you've worked in...
02:24 You've done Celtic ranges, you know what a rivalry feels like.
02:29 You've worked in Australia, you've been straight talking.
02:32 I've seen some of your interviews out there.
02:34 I just can't help feeling...
02:36 I mean, people say, "You don't get it."
02:38 And you get it, don't you?
02:40 I do, mate, and you know what?
02:43 I had, you know...
02:45 When I started at Celtic, it was the same sort of discussion around...
02:49 Everything was framed around...
02:51 Because don't forget, when I took over, Rangers had won it the year before
02:54 and Celtic hadn't won anything,
02:56 which is quite extraordinary for that football club.
02:58 They'd gone from Trebles to not one trophy.
03:01 And when I first got there, there was a lot of talk.
03:04 Not some internal as well,
03:07 but a lot of it was about what Rangers were doing.
03:11 And I kept... And I was pretty consistent,
03:13 and it would be on public record as saying,
03:15 "We've got to worry about ourselves.
03:17 "Don't worry about anyone else.
03:19 "You kind of... You be the best you can be."
03:21 And I actually... I've said a number of times,
03:24 "You run your own race, and when you get to the finish line,
03:27 "have a look around and see where you've finished.
03:29 "Don't worry about what the person next to you is doing."
03:31 And I've always been consistent with that.
03:34 And I was up there. I thought it was really important up there
03:37 because I felt like there was too much of an obsession
03:40 with what was happening at Rangers at the time,
03:43 because they were ahead,
03:45 that we were never going to catch them
03:47 if that's what we were always obsessed about.
03:49 'Cause you can't control that.
03:51 You can't control what another club does.
03:53 You want to stop another club winning a trophy?
03:55 Win it yourself. Like, that's the answer.
03:57 It's not about... And that doesn't mean you don't want them to lose.
04:00 I get that. Absolutely.
04:02 Like, mate, I felt that living up in...
04:05 You know, as much as people were happy we were winning,
04:08 they were just as happy the other mob were losing.
04:10 And it was vice versa. So I get that.
04:13 But the notion of not wanting to win for any reason?
04:18 I can't understand it.
04:20 I just... It doesn't... So I don't think it's...
04:23 Look, I don't think it's a healthy way...
04:25 Not healthy. Healthy is the wrong word.
04:27 I don't think it's the right mentality to have
04:29 if you want to be successful.
04:31 If you want to be successful, you just worry about yourself.
04:33 The best just worry about themselves.
04:35 Be the best I can be.
04:37 If that's short, then I'll get up next time and go that extra bit.
04:41 Hate my rivals, want them to lose,
04:43 but all I'm concerned about is myself.
04:46 But I didn't hear anyone say that last week.
04:51 All I heard was that...
04:54 ..it's OK to feel that way, that it's understandable.
04:59 So part of me thinks I am kind of on the outer on this subject
05:04 and I did get it wrong. But I won't change.
05:06 Like I said, I'm fully respectful of that view,
05:09 but I'm firmly on the other side of...
05:12 I just think you worry about yourself.
05:15 Have you felt it necessary to maybe sit down with some people
05:21 and say, "Look, this never happens again.
05:23 "It's done, it's gone. Never again.
05:25 "We're going to change this thing differently."
05:28 Yeah. No, I can't do that.
05:31 But what I'm hoping I can do is...
05:35 ..like I did at Celtic, is...
05:37 ..provide a platform where the fans get what they want.
05:42 And if I can give the fans what they really want,
05:45 because as much as they may say, "Well, they're ecstatic
05:48 "if their greatest rival doesn't win something,"
05:50 what they really want is success.
05:52 That's what it boils down to.
05:54 So if I can give them success...
05:56 ..then maybe I can sort of drive that message a little bit better.
06:01 You look at Sunday's game, and Sunday as a day,
06:05 as what might have been.
06:07 I mean, because Villa are going to go to a very difficult place -
06:10 five wins from their last six for Palace.
06:12 You go to Sheffield United, already relegated.
06:15 Obviously, you respect the game,
06:17 but they've conceded over 100 goals this season.
06:19 Yeah. Look, I...
06:21 As I said, I just felt it would have been disingenuous for me to say
06:26 that we were in a good place when we'd lost five of our last six games.
06:30 It wasn't just about the other night.
06:32 We knew we had some big tests coming,
06:35 and we fell well short in these last five out of six games.
06:39 And I don't think we earned the right to finish above where we are right now.
06:47 So it wasn't just about the other night.
06:50 So...
06:52 Now, I could spin it a different way, for sure,
06:55 and say, "Look, we finished eighth last year.
06:57 "We didn't have Europe this year. We'll be in Europe next year."
06:59 We brought some pretty good footballers to the club,
07:02 some young, exciting talent.
07:04 We're definitely playing different football,
07:06 closer, I think, to what the expectations were when they appointed me.
07:11 But that's not a good starting point for us, I don't think, to improve.
07:17 The good starting point is to say, "Yeah, we've made some progress,
07:19 "but we've still got some way to go, and we need to address these things."
07:22 And it wasn't just the other night.
07:25 Like I said, this last period has shown me
07:27 that if we want to compete against the best,
07:30 the margins are small, but they're probably the hardest to close.
07:37 Just a last one from me, unrelated to all of this.
07:40 It's Jürgen's last day.
07:42 Everyone, obviously, has given a few words to Sandibov.
07:46 What would your message be?
07:48 Yeah, look...
07:50 You always look for people who make an impact, you know?
07:54 And it's not always just about the trophies,
07:57 and he's got some pretty significant trophies.
08:01 I think for all of us what we look for is that when it's all done and dusted,
08:05 like I said, we've made an impact, that people remember us.
08:09 He'll always be remembered
08:10 as one of the most famous football clubs in the world.
08:15 And it wasn't easy, because when you take over a club
08:18 that hasn't had success for a while after tasting a lot of success,
08:23 that's a hard shift.
08:24 And he's put in a hard shift.
08:28 I think, like I said, when you make an indelible impact where you've been,
08:35 I think that's the greatest reward for anybody,
08:37 apart from the trophies and anything else you may gain along the way.
08:43 He made people's lives better.
08:47 Nothing greater than that.
08:49 Tom?
08:50 Do you think a lot of fans will watch this press conference
08:53 and read about it, and they'll have a lot of bitters of late, by the way,
08:57 and they'll be very terrified of things happening on the day,
09:00 but they will have been quite alarmed at the reaction
09:03 and worrying about whether you're happy here, really.
09:06 So just to sort of draw a line under it,
09:09 I know you've sort of referred to it throughout this conference,
09:11 but are you happy at Tottenham,
09:13 and is all this not going to be a problem for you?
09:17 I mean, we've lost five out of six games.
09:21 I'm not going to come in here and be happy.
09:24 Look, I'm hoping that you guys, after sort of a year with me,
09:32 have understood that I am who I am.
09:35 I can't hide who I am and what I believe.
09:37 And if I'm not happy about something, I'm going to say I'm not happy.
09:39 We lost five out of six games.
09:41 I'm gutted.
09:42 I'm not going to walk into a press conference
09:44 and try and paint a rosy picture,
09:46 especially on the back of the preceding 24 hours, where I felt that –
09:50 like I said, it was the most unenjoyable experience
09:54 I've had on a touchline in my whole career.
09:56 That's 26 years of football, where I'm sitting on the sideline,
09:59 not really enjoying the battle against one of the best.
10:03 You know, I could have said in Chris Davies' mate,
10:07 and probably like I said, everyone's fears would be allayed
10:10 and everything would be great, but at least people know how I feel.
10:14 Am I up for the fight? Absolutely, mate.
10:18 I love it.
10:20 This is why I've come here.
10:24 This ain't the last fight I'm going to have, for sure.
10:28 Because I'll be honest with you,
10:30 the biggest fight I'll have at this football club
10:32 is when we get close to success.
10:34 That'll be the biggest one.
10:37 (INAUDIBLE)
10:47 Do you want me to park the bus and get a nil-nil?
10:51 (LAUGHTER)
10:53 (INAUDIBLE)
11:01 Yeah, it does matter, because again, I think it's been misconstrued
11:05 that somehow people think I didn't care about Champions League.
11:08 All I kept saying was, of course, I want to finish as high as possible,
11:12 but it wasn't going to disguise the work we had needed to do.
11:16 And it's the same on the weekend.
11:18 I want us to win.
11:20 I said we haven't had some great results,
11:23 our performances have fluctuated, so we need a strong performance,
11:26 we need a win, and that'll get us fifth spot.
11:30 And we kind of know where we're finished,
11:32 and we're in next year, and I think that's important.
11:36 But again, that doesn't change anything
11:39 in terms of how I feel about all the work we need to do.
11:42 But, yeah, it is important we win, absolutely.
11:44 Coming off the back of our recent form, we need to go out there.
11:50 And again, I don't want to also overlook the fact
11:53 that we played awfully well the other night.
11:56 If we play that well on the weekend, I reckon we've got a good chance for a result.
11:59 [unclear]
12:19 It's not what?
12:20 It's not Benidorm.
12:22 What's that?
12:24 Spanish rugby.
12:25 Oh, sorry, OK.
12:27 Don't go, you love it.
12:29 Don't go, you love it?
12:31 I like it.
12:32 OK, all right, fine.
12:33 If you like it, I'm not going.
12:34 I think they'll see next year.
12:35 OK.
12:36 If I can move my train of thought.
12:38 Yeah, so basically it's not round the corner,
12:40 it's a bit of a runaway, not a deal-and-have-it.
12:42 Yeah.
12:43 European Championship.
12:44 Would you under...
12:45 Have you got any players that have had any concerns
12:47 when you go to the stadium?
12:49 No, look, we discussed that earlier,
12:50 and I think our situation's probably a little bit different from Newcastle,
12:53 because they've had a European season, Champions League,
12:56 it's been a big season.
12:57 We haven't, and it's no secret part of this is, yes, exposure,
13:03 but also revenue for us.
13:04 And I'm pretty certain, and I certainly wouldn't have allowed it to happen
13:09 if we were in Europe this year and had a bigger game schedule.
13:13 I probably would have said no to it.
13:15 And I don't think the club would have expected us to go.
13:18 So, you know, if we were in Europe next year,
13:19 I don't think you'll be seeing this happen.
13:21 I don't think it's ideal, but I think each situation is unique.
13:24 And for us, on the back of our season,
13:26 I think to play one more game two days after the end of the season,
13:30 I think is...
13:33 I think there's substance to it for us.
13:37 And we had a discussion with the playing group really early on about it,
13:41 and they understood why we're doing it,
13:43 and we all kind of made a commitment to go,
13:45 and that's what's going to happen.
13:48 Any final ones?
13:50 No? OK, we'll leave it at that.
13:52 It's just a bit...
13:53 Yeah, I think it's a bit where I have to sort of pretend to thank you all
13:56 and be happy that we've had a great experience together
14:00 and appreciate all your support.
14:03 No, I do. Thank you.
14:04 Obviously, the last press conference, and...
14:08 Yeah, just thank everyone for, I guess, being present
14:12 and making sure that I'm accountable all the time,
14:16 and hopefully you'll get a better insight into me
14:21 and you enjoyed some of it, like I did.
14:24 Thank you.
14:25 Thanks, guys.
14:26 Two claps, that's all.
14:30 (LAUGHTER)
14:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]