Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has refused to aim for anything other than first place in the Premier League, because Champions League football “is not a Willy Wonka golden ticket”.
Spurs are battling Aston Villa for fourth place and go to Villa Park this Sunday, but Postecoglou does not want his team to think that qualifying for the Champions League is their only priority. He wants his team to keep developing and improving until they can aim for the top, and said that playing in the Champions League is no guarantee of that.
Postecoglou insisted that qualifying for the Champions League is not “some golden ticket to some endless riches”, as was evidenced by teams this season. He did not name Manchester United or Newcastle United — who were in this season’s Champions League group stage but have struggled domestically — and he did not need to. Tottenham fans will remember the 2022-23 season, when Spurs returned to the Champions League, got knocked out in the last 16 by AC Milan, and regressed in the Premier League.
So while Tottenham have a big game against Villa this weekend, Postecoglou does not think that beating the West Midlands side to fourth place is the club’s ultimate priority. “I don’t see the sense in trying to aim for something other than number one,” he said. “What’s the point?”
Postecoglou knows that his Tottenham tenure will be judged by whether his team continue to improve next season and beyond, rather than by which European competition they play in. And he does not want to aim for anything less than the top.
“I’m in no desperation to get something just for comfort or insurance,” the Australian added.
“I’m here to create a team that wins things. For me, it defies logic — I’m just not built that way — to aim for anything other than the top. Now, it doesn’t mean you are always going to get there. But I’m not going to settle for anything other than that. If I fall short, well that’s on me. But I’m not going to sit here and try and create a scenario where we’re happy with anything other than being the best.”
Tottenham are 10 points clear of Newcastle United, who finished 11 points and four place ahead of them last season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Postecoglou was asked whether being in next season’s expanded Champions League would be an important step in the team’s development, but he argued that being in the competition would be “meaningless” if they did not keep improving.
“What’s more important is that come the end of this year, we’ve got a team that’s going to challenge the following year and keep growing,” Postecoglou said. “Right now, the most important thing is us, our identity and our football. It’s not a Willy Wonka golden ticket, you know? It just gets you a year in the Champions League. But if you don’t build on that or grow from that, it is meaningless.
“Because we’re not in it for participation. We’re in it to win things. Yes, if we make Champions League this year it means we’ve progressed from last year. But has our football progressed? Are we a better team? Are we a stronger team? Are we going to improve in the summer to make sure that next year we are going to be even better? That’s much more important to me.”
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For years, Tottenham managers have been judged by their ability to get Spurs into the Champions League. Harry Redknapp did it, Andre Villas-Boas did not. Mauricio Pochettino did it, and took Spurs to the final. Jose Mourinho did not. Antonio Conte did it, but the team collapsed the following season, underlining Postecoglou’s point that mere qualification guarantees nothing. So for the current Spurs manager, improvement this season, and again in the summer, was the most important thing.
“My target this year has always been to create a team that I hope will lay strong foundations for moving forward being a team that can win things,” Postecoglou said. “That’s where it begins and ends. Logically as you say, if we’ve improved and make the Champions League, it means we’ve had a decent year. But that isn’t going to give me any comfort if we’re not playing the football that I want to play and we haven’t improved in the off-season to make sure we’re ready for the next step.”
Postecoglou was clearly aware of the teams who started this season in the Champions League but are now behind Spurs in the Premier League table, and who are struggling to qualify for next season’s competition. For Postecoglou, the goal is to build a side that can be consistently competitive, rather than just for one season.
“Your development is your development. If you keep getting stronger as a team, those kind of things don’t even come into the equation. You should be there all the time. But if that’s your goal and thinking that is some golden ticket to some endless riches, it is not the case. There’s plenty of evidence even this year, you can see that’s not the case.”
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(Top photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
