Ange Postecoglou admits that his expectations for Tottenham closely mirror Harry Kane's and the Australian has explained exactly why he wanted to add James Maddison to his squad.
Kane, who has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, said about Tottenham towards the end of last season that "I feel like we lost a bit of what the values are at this club over the last few years, it's about finding a way to get back on the same page again and obviously even with the fans as well".
Postecoglou, who has joined Spurs after leading Celtic to five trophies in two seasons including the domestic treble this year, says he holds similar beliefs about how a club should operate and he is determined to ensure there is a clear direction for everyone involved at the north London outfit.
"My philosophy - 'philosophy' I hate using buzzwords - on culture is to me it's just people," said the 57-year-old. "It's people who define an environment. It's very easy to come in and say this is what I want the culture to look like but I've got people who don't fit in it, who don't have the characteristics or behaviours.
"So that's the first thing you've got to understand is what kind of people we have. The values that I hold dear are reflected in a lot of the values this football club have in terms of the way you play football but my basis for culture and behaviour is that we're all very fortunate to do what we do.
"There isn't a person who comes through these gates that shouldn't come through with a smile on their faces, particularly the footballers. It starts there. If you have an appreciation and respect of your environment and the people there, I think it gives you a good chance to create something.
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"Sometimes people need direction with that. If there's no clear direction and clarity around what that is supposed to look like people can go off and do their own thing. I understand that. I have been and I will be pretty clear around my expectations around what I think we need to be like as a group of players, a group of staff and as a football club, and I don't think that's too far from the kind of things that Harry was talking about."
When asked whether ones of his biggest challenges will be to reprogramme his players to his high energy, attacking possession-based style after four years of playing more as a counter-attacking team, Postecoglou nodded in agreement and he is relishing the rebuild.
"Yeah, absolutely. That will be the biggest challenge and that's what I'm concentrating on at the moment. We don't have the whole group here but the guys we have here it's about changing that mindset and changing the way the players see the game, and maybe their roles within in," he explained.
"Because even with the positions they play, there's going be adjustments in how I want them to do things. Again, I love that. That's why I'm here. If it was just me rolling up and they're going out there, doing their thing, it wouldn't excite me. That's part of the challenge - it will be a shift from the way the club has played for three or four years.
"In terms of how quickly the players embrace that, the new players coming in will help. That's the part I have control over, whether that's James Maddison or Guglielmo [Vicario] in goal. They're players who fit in the direction I want to go in, which helps. Then it's about seeing with the existing group how many of them are able to adjust and embrace the way we're going to play."
When it comes to Maddison, it's clear that Postecoglou sees the £40million England international as a big cog within his new machine and when he was looking for a player like the former Leicester midfielder, he thought why not just get the 26-year-old himself.
"I'm really excited to get him as part of the group. Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals, they're not easy to come by," he said. "He's proven himself at that level in the last few years, as somebody who can do that.
"When you look at Tottenham the last few years, they've been really reliant on the front three to get their goals. I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James - even better if we could get James. So we ended up getting James. I was really pleased and the fact that we did it early was great because it allows him to have a break.
"He's had the birth of twins so I don't know what shape he'll be in when he gets here! But once we get him in, it means he can come on the tour with us and I know he's really excited about joining the group. He obviously knows a few of the lads and I think he's in a stage of his career where it feels like he can be a leader, which is great as well because we need players who want to embrace that responsibility within this group, whether it's their first year in or they've been here for ages.
"We're going to need leadership on the field and he feels like he can be a player who does that."
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