Postecoglou reacts to Jamie Carragher wanting a season ticket at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou has said that the way the supporters rallied behind the team during their difficult spell did not go unnoticed among the Tottenham squad.
Spurs went through a horrid run of form since the start of November, picking up just a point in five Premier League matches.
The Lilywhites have now managed to turn around their form, with the feel-good factor around the club returning after two authoritative wins over Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
In previous years under the likes of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, it only took a couple of consecutive losses for the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to turn quite toxic.
Jamie Carragher even said last week that he enjoys watching Spurs play so much that he would love to have a season ticket at North London.
When Carragher’s statement was put to Postecoglou, he joked to Sky Sports: “I doubt that very much! (Laughs). But look, it’s great because it’s what I really want to try and make an impact with, that you play the kind of football that even for people who maybe don’t support the team, at least enjoy watching it, because I think that’s part of the function of football in people’s lives.
“I think it’s always been a form of escapism for fans that whatever they’re going through in a week that they can go there and support their team.
“Every supporter wants to win, but if they’ve got moments that they can grab onto, even if you don’t win, and they can talk about and get excited about, then I think that’s certainly the space we want to be in.”
Postecoglou admitted that getting the supporters on side has been vital for his side, especially given the difficult run they had last month.
He said: “It’s crucial [the fans’ backing] because you know that you’re going to go through tough times. There isn’t a team that doesn’t do that and through those times your supporters can be such a sense of security for you that they will never turn on you, in the sense where you have to really battle to get them to get behind you.
“I think the players have felt that through there. Ultimately, supporters see a group of players who, irrespective of the outcome, they’re going in every week and giving their all and not just trying to play good football but actually they’re working hard.
“It’s been mentioned a few times: running should never be underestimated as a barometer as to how much effort you’re putting in. I think the average supporter who sits in the stand, that’s what they want to see their team doing. I think this group of players has done that even in those difficult moments.”
Spurs players love playing under Ange Postecoglou
When asked if he has been surprised by how quickly the players have adapted to his free-flowing style, the Australian responded: “No, I’m not because that’s what I’ve done my whole career and obviously working with a higher level footballer here.
“I think the biggest barrier to it is whether the players accept and embrace it, and maybe because it was such a departure from what was happening in the past that maybe the players just thought, ‘Okay, well let’s just go this way and see where it takes us’.
“I had very little resistance in going that way, and once you get the players’ acceptance then it’s up to me, and obviously to set up the environment and give them the information to play that way.
“From the first game in pre-season, you could see there were already things happening, that they’re understanding and I think then that it takes a life of its own and it grows quickly from there.”
When asked whether he felt the players were immediately receptive to his style when he walked through the door in the summer, the 58-year-old said: “Yeah, I did. I thought that right from the start. I didn’t sense within the room that there was going to be too much initial resistance anyway, until I actually started talking and we started doing things because then they could’ve turned around and said, ‘This is not going to work’.
“But I think they liked what they saw early on in terms of what we were trying to build – not just playing but in our training, and they liked the way that the information was being given to them from all of the coaches, and from there it’s just grown.”
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The issue that Mourinho and Conte had was that the football was so drab that fans were always going to turn on the team if results were poor.
Postecoglou has also benefited from the fact that the supporters’ expectations have been reset after a few poor seasons, with fans now willing to be patient as long as they see that the team is moving in the right direction.
