Ange Postecoglou slams ‘not big club’ Spurs and names targets he couldn’t sign | Football

Ange Postecoglou has spoken out about his time answerable for Tottenham, saying they’re ‘not a giant club’ and revealing players he wanted but couldn’t sign.

The Australian was answerable for Spurs from July 2023 to June 2025, in a memorably stint with the north London side.

A powerful first season saw him finish fifth in the highest flight before a rollercoaster second campaign.

Spurs beat Manchester United in the ultimate to win the Europa League, their first European trophy since 1984, but ending seventeenth within the Premier League cost Postecoglou his job.

The 60-year-old reflects on his time at Tottenham and says it should be difficult for any manager to realize success there given the financial restraints the club places on itself.

He says it felt inconceivable to enhance on ending fifth when the investment in the summertime of 2024 was in Dominic Solanke after which a trio of unproven talents in Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert.

‘It’s a curious club, Tottenham. It’s really curious when it comes to understanding what they’re attempting to construct,’ Postecoglou told Stick To Football.

‘They’ve built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities, but while you take a look at the expenditure, particularly the wages structure, they’re not a giant club.

‘I saw that because after we were attempting to sign players we weren’t available in the market for those players.’

Postecoglou named a string of targets that he liked the look of in 2024 but was not available in the market for, all of whom have since moved to big clubs.

‘There’s certain players that we…at the top of my first yr after we finished fifth. How do you go from fifth to actually difficult?’ Postecoglou asked. ‘We needed to sign Premier League ready players.

‘Ending fifth that yr didn’t get us Champions League, we didn’t have the cash, so we ended up signing Dom Solanke, who I used to be really keen on, I actually like him, and three teenagers.

‘I used to be taking a look at Pedro Netro, [Bryan] Mbeumo, [Antoine] Semenyo, Marc Guehi. Because I said if we’re going to go from fifth to there [up] that’s what the opposite big clubs would do in that moment.

‘Those three teenagers are outstanding young players, good, and I feel they’ll be great players for Tottenham, but they’re not going to get you from fifth to fourth and third.’

The Aussie feels that the general public messaging from the club suggests they’ve great ambitions for fulfillment, but that isn’t what it felt like when he worked there.

‘What was coming out from the club was that, we’re a club that may compete on all fronts,’ he said.

‘Once you walk into Tottenham, what you see is ‘To Dare Is To Do’. It’s in every single place! And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that.

‘Whether you want or dislike him, give credit to Daniel [Levy] because that path has got them a brand new stadium, recent facilities, by taking a secure path. I feel what they didn’t realise was to really win you’ve got to take some risks in some unspecified time in the future. That’s the DNA of the club.

‘It’s not a lot what they inform you, it’s what goes out publicly. I felt like Tottenham as a club were saying that we’re certainly one of the massive boys, and the fact is I don’t think they’re when it comes to my experience.

‘When Arsenal need players, they spend £100m on Declan Rice, I don’t see Tottenham doing that.

‘It’s not the transfer fees, nevertheless it’s the wages to actually attract…when was the last time Tottenham signed any individual to actually go: “Wow!”‘

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