Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has offered his support to under-fire Manchester United counterpart Erik ten Hag as the pair prepare to do battle on Sunday.
Both Postecoglou and Ten Hag find themselves facing significant scrutiny after underwhelming starts to the new season – tenth-placed Spurs sit ahead of United only on goal difference – and defeat on Sunday would undoubtedly ramp up the pressure on whoever comes out on the losing end.
Postecoglou acknowledged the natural challenges that come with managing United but pointed to Ten Hag’s silverware haul as proof that he deserves to be at this level.
“I mean there’s always some manager under pressure,” Postecoglou told his pre-match press conference. “I think there must be a sort of – what do they call one of those spinning boards with all our faces on it and whatever it lands on? – he’s the one that cops it for a week or two.
“But I think Erik’s in a real tough job. He’s done really well. He keeps mentioning he’s won two trophies and he has, so I don’t think that’s insignificant. Everyone keeps telling me that’s all I have to do, but obviously it’s not all you have to do because when you do that then there’s more, there’s always more. So I think he’s done a great job and like I said, a difficult job and at Old Trafford, it’s tough there.
“You look at their record irrespective of the managers, it’s still a fairly compelling record there and they’ve got some real quality players. So, we had a really good game there last year. We ended up 2-2 and it was a cracking game and yeah, it’s one we’re going to be ready for.”
Spurs head to Old Trafford looking for their first win on the red side of Manchester since October 2020, when Jose Mourinho’s side thumped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils 6-1.