Ange Postecoglou says the responsibility for bringing success to Tottenham is “all on me”.
The Spurs boss faced criticism for fielding a weakened team in the recent Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham, however he has insisted he wants to compete on multiple fronts on a “yearly basis” rather than show a “desperation” to lift any kind of silverware “just for the sake of it”.
In an interview with talkSPORT, the Aussie revealed: “The reason I’ve had success at just about every club I’ve gone to is that they’ve identified what they need in the next phase of whatever that club cycle is, in terms of the style of football and environment. I come out as the last man standing in that process.
“When Daniel [Levy] and Spurs decided to go with me then I knew that they were open to going in my direction. Then it’s down to me. After that I’m going to take responsibility for what happens here, good, bad or otherwise. If I don’t succeed it’s not going to be because of external factors, because I’ve accepted taking them on. It’s all up to me from now on.”
Speaking about what attracted him to the role at Tottenham, the 58-year-old said: “Every time I walk into a role, there’s a reason I’m here. If things were going well, I wouldn’t be here.
“The fact that it is, for all intents and purposes, one of the biggest clubs in the world but hasn’t had success for a very long time was probably the key driver for me.
“That was the biggest attraction for me: the fact that the club hasn’t had a lot of success. It was coming off the back of a particularly poor season even by its own standards. The opportunity is there to create something.
“The challenge is, for me, the same everywhere: to get the team to play a certain kind of football that gives its own fans and punters something to get excited about on a weekly basis and brings success to the club. That never changes — I’m uncompromising in that.”
Some Spurs fans were critical of Postecoglou’s team selection when a side featuring squad players lost to Fulham in the Carabao Cup before the international break.
“I’m not going to tell [the fans] to not be disappointed”, Postecoglou admitted. “But I’m here because I want to create a club that has the opportunity to win things on a yearly basis. And there’s a difference, because us winning a Carabao Cup and finishing tenth is not what I think this club is about.
“That’s not dismissing the Carabao Cup. I want to win every game; trust me, I was disappointed on that night as well. But that’s not the endgame for me. It’s not about just winning something for the sake of winning something. It’s about building something.
“When we get to where we want to and play the football we want to, the winning should take care of itself. Whatever the ceiling that may exist is, let’s see if we can smash through it.”
