Tottenham's Postecoglou Maintains Composure Amid Premier League Triumph
Ange Postecoglou remains grounded despite Tottenham's position at the top of the Premier League table. Following their 1-0 victory over newly promoted Luton Town before the international break, where defender Micky van de Ven netted the decisive goal, the Australian manager addressed the media ahead of their upcoming match against Fulham on Monday.
Postecoglou admits that he treats this international break like any other, acknowledging the initial relief it brings and the subsequent quest for improvement. He stressed that his mindset remains unchanged, and he refuses to be swayed by the team's early-season success.
"It's the same as any international break. The first days you welcome it, then the next few days you seek something new,” the Australian said in his press conference on Friday.
"It doesn’t change the way I'm thinking. It pains me to say we're very much still in the beginning. My thought is continual development. Everything is in the early stages. Whatever start we have had doesn’t change that it’s the early stages. If you get side-tracked and move away from the plans, you’re going to stumble.
"It pains me to say we're very much still in the beginning."
"My thinking is how we present ourselves and how we perform. I think there's, at the moment, a curiosity around us and me. There's nothing beyond that to show you what trajectory we’re on."
Despite their impressive start to the 2023-24 season, with Postecoglou earning the first two Premier League Manager of the Month Awards, he modestly attributed this success to a collective effort in creating an environment for the players to shine. He highlighted the team's consistent performances in every game and the valuable lessons learned in eventful matches that have strengthened their resilience and character.
“Wherever we are is where we are,” he said. “We have had a real encouraging start to the season. The Premier League Manager of the Month Award is a larger group of people creating an environment for the players to perform.
“We've had a level of performance in every game. We've had some eventful games but again that’s given us a strong foundation in terms of resilience and character.”
Postecoglou also provided updates on the team's fitness, indicating that everyone is back and in good health. He mentioned several players, including those making senior international debuts and those returning from international duty. He expressed optimism about the team's readiness and the potential return of Rodrigo Bentancur, stressing the need for caution due to his extended absence from competitive football.
“Brennan Johnson has trained the last few days with the boys who stayed back. In terms of the match being on Monday night should help us. We'll see how it goes.
“Rodrigo Bentancur, we will be careful. He's fully training. He's been fed into training the last month. We've got to be mindful, he's missed a lot of football. He's looking good in training. Looking forward to get him back.”
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