‘Really wasn’t happy’ – Ange Postecoglou on why he kept his players in longer at half time
Ange Postecoglou got his first taste of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday when he led his Spurs side to a 5-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Australian, who was appointed as Antonio Conte’s successor in June had not visited the billion pound venue prior to the match against the Ukranian outfit which saw Harry Kane score four goals and substitute Dane Scarlett add a late fifth.
Postecoglou has wasted little time in letting his players know exactly what he demands from them at all times when he was far from impressed with the performance during the final five minutes of the first half.
As a result, the 57-year-old kept his players in the home dressing room longer than expected ahead of the second period to get his point across of what he expects, regardless of how little there is left on the clock.
Postecoglou wants more belief from his players
He told Football.London: “It’s not a reflection on the players, it’s just where we’re at. I think we’re doing a lot of things where it’s because I’m telling them to do it rather than belief. I really wasn’t happy with that last five or six minutes of the first half, we were just playing for 1-0, that doesn’t sit well with me.
“I don’t blame the players because they’re going at the moment through my guidance but it shows me we still have a lot of work to do in terms of getting them to really believe and be the team we want to be. Which is not unexpected, we’ve been working together for four or five weeks so when I see things like that, it’s a good sort of reminder to me that there’s still a fair way to go.”
When quizzed further on if that was the reason for the slight delay, he added: “It was a fair reason, yeah.”
Tottenham round off their pre-season preparations on Tuesday when they face Barcelona in the Joan Gamper trophy and will kick off their Premier League campaign at Brentford on Sunday.
SpursWeb Opinion
It is refreshing to hear a manager who shoots straight from the hip and says exactly what is on his mind, compared to the riddles and mind games that Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte used to put out to the press.
Postecoglou is clearly passionate about the style of play he expects from his players and there is no let up with his demands, not even for a five-minute spell.
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