Tottenham return to Southampton on Sunday for the first time since Antonio Conte’s explosive post-match rant, but current boss Ange Postecoglou has not lost any of his determination to succeed at the club.
Conte’s last public act as Spurs head coach after a 3-3 draw at St Mary’s in 2023 was to launch a furious tirade against his own “selfish” players who he claimed “don’t want to play under pressure” before he seemed to turn on the board as he questioned the club’s ongoing trophy drought.
Eight days later Conte had left Tottenham by mutual consent after a whirlwind 16-month period, with Postecoglou his eventual permanent successor.
Postecoglou has been in charge of the Premier League club for two months longer than the Italian, but managed 12 fewer matches and is currently in the middle of an injury crisis which has resulted in a drop in form, with Spurs only able to claim one victory from their last eight fixtures.
However, when Postecoglou was asked if he would jump ship in the wake of making remarks like Conte did in March, 2023, he said: “Look, I don’t think it’s fair to comment.
“Antonio is a world-class manager and has his own way of doing things, his own reasons for doing that.
“I am here, I am in for the fight. I am in a fight, for sure. For better or worse I am not going anywhere at the moment because everything is still in my power and my responsibility.
“I still have a real desire to get us through this stage so that people see what is on the other side. My resolve and determination hasn’t wavered one little bit.
“I love a fight, I love a scrap, I love being in the middle of a storm when everyone doubts because I know what it is on the other side if you get through it. My job is to get through it.”
Postecoglou was Celtic boss when Conte’s extraordinary 10-minute press conference made waves around the world, but acknowledged being aware of his predecessors’ comments and attempted to explain the psyche behind why a manager would make such a move.
“I was on Planet Earth at that time, and yes I was well aware of it,” Postecoglou smiled.
“I think you know when a manager gets to that point that there’s obviously some underlying issues.
“I think most of the time when managers do that they’re trying to get a reaction, trying to get some sort of impact on the team.
“In difficult moments, what you want from your leaders is action rather than inaction of just letting things drift along. He did it to try and get a positive impact on the group, one way or another. We’ve all been in that situation as a manager where you feel this is time to send a message.”
Postecoglou sent out his own message on Thursday after a 1-1 draw away to Rangers when he insisted Timo Werner’s display “wasn’t acceptable” at Ibrox.
Werner was replaced at half-time following an error-strewn performance, but was not alone in being below-par in Glasgow.
A day later Postecoglou explained how with Spurs missing several key first-teamers, the onus is on their fit senior players to deliver a level of application and commitment – and admitted Werner will be required at St Mary’s on Sunday.
“I’ve got no choice. Who else am I going to play? I’m pulling kids out of school, I literally am,” Postecoglou mentioned in reference to 16-year-old duo Malachi Hardy and Luca Williams-Barnett, who have recently made the bench.
“That was the reasoning for me pointing it out last night. We need Timo. We need all of them.
“In normal times if you have a poor game, there’s a price to pay. It doesn’t exist right now. We need everybody we’ve got.”
