Tottenham appointed Ange Postecoglou as their new manager earlier this month and the Australian has a huge challenge ahead of him with improving Tottenham, who finished eighth in the Premier League.
We talked to the former Manchester United defender, Paul Parker, who shared his thoughts on the new Tottenham manager.
Parker actually knows Ange Postecoglou quite well from his time when he lived in Australia and he is very positive about the Australian, who he calls ruthless and arrogant but in a positive way.
Ange Postecoglou is Arrogant
Paul Parker lived in Australia for eight months, while Ange Postecoglou was managing in his home country, which is why the Englishman knows him very well, and the former Man United defender calls him arrogant in a positive way.
“I lived in Australia for eight months and he was the manager of Brisbane Roar. At that time I didn’t know him that well, but he was very respected in Australia and then he won the title with Melbourne.”
“I saw a lot of his interviews on TV and he did come across as very arrogant. But when I look back at it now, it was the right kind of arrogance because he was believing in his own abilities in terms of his managing skills and how he dealt with the players.”
Celtic is a Bigger Club than Tottenham
Paul Parker claims that Celtic is a bigger club than Tottenham, even though Tottenham is a bigger club due to the circumstances.
“Afterwards he was managing Australia, then he went to Japan and then Celtic. 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.”
“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. 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.”
He is Ruthless and Fiery
Parker says that he expects Ange Postecoglou to do well at Tottenham, and he is a big fan of the way he manages, as he calls the Australian ruthless and fiery.
“I think he will do well because he is very fiery in the way he manages. The vast majority might only have seen his best side on TV but he is ruthless in everything he does, which is perfect for Tottenham. There are no nice guys that are successful.”
“I think he has a perfect idea of what he wants and a player is not going to play just because he is a local boy. The players have to earn their right to play now. So, the club has to listen to him and give him what he wants instead of just doing what the friends of the board of Daniel Levy wants. No more ego boosting now, they have to do what’s best for the club.”
Old Dogs Can’t Do New Tricks – Tottenham Will Struggle
Even though Parker has very high expectations for the Australian, he still expects Tottenham to struggle at the beginning of the season, especially because of the number of old players in their squad. He also claims that Australian football might experience a huge increase in interest in football because of Ange Postecoglou.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
