Louis Saha believes that Ange Postecoglou can have a similar impact at Tottenham Hotspur as Erik ten Hag has had at Manchester United.
After a tough start to life at Old Trafford, the Dutchman led United to a third-place finish as well as lifting the Carabao Cup and former Spurs and United striker Saha believes that if Spurs show the right amount of patience in Postecoglou then they will reap the benefits as time goes on. The 57-year-old Australian officially begins work on July 1 following his arrival from Celtic.
"Tottenham should be looking at Man United and what Erik ten Hag achieved in his first season. Even if the results aren’t perfect at first, you can see the foundation, the direction that they are going in," the Frenchman told Compare.bet. "Last season with United, every game that went by you could see what the manager was implementing and you could see the structure in the team.
"Postecoglou needs to show that the team is growing and bring back the fear factor to playing at Tottenham. He needs to make the Tottenham stadium hard to play at again and make the fans believe in what he’s doing."
He added: "I really hope Postecoglou can turn Spurs into an exciting side. That’s what he was brought in to do. I don’t think Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho had the wrong approach, because Tottenham still won big games, but for Tottenham it’s about consistency, the toughness, approaching the game with a champion’s mindset.
"In some cases you would see that, but in others, in those crucial moments, they wouldn’t show enough fight. What Conte said in that press conference, they were some very harsh words but I don’t think he was particularly wrong. It’s hard to see how a forward-thinking manager can solve those issues so for me, it’s a gamble. Tottenham have potential, but it’s frustrating to see because they struggle to realise that potential."
READ MORE: Leonardo Gabbanini - The man behind the scenes at Tottenham building Ange Postecoglou's team
Both Spurs and Newcastle are interested in bringing Leicester star James Maddison to their respective clubs and Saha is a fan of the midfielder but believes St James' Park should be his destination.
"I do think that Maddison is a terrific lad, a massive talent, and it was a pity to see Leicester go down with all those talented players," he said. "When you look at Newcastle it seems to be, for me, the perfect fit for Maddison in some ways. This club needs to get to the European standard so there will be a lot of games with pressure.
"Newcastle need players like him, definitely, who can be a provider, give a lot of consistency in midfield which is what they need, a lot of energy as well so yes, it’s the perfect fit there. The option of Spurs or Man United are good for Maddison but the one where he can be a star straight away in a club that’s going in the right direction is Newcastle."
