LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou believes beating Manchester United in next week’s Europa League final would break the cycle of under-achievement and mark a turning point in the history of the north London club.
Postecoglou is in the strange position of leading the club to their worst ever Premier League campaign yet being one win away from ending the a 17-year trophy drought.
The Australian’s future has been the source of constant speculation this season and Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace was their 20th league loss, leaving them in 17th place.
Next Wednesday in Bilbao, however, victory over United would not only deliver the club’s first European silverware for 41 years but also send them into next season’s Champions League.
“My view was that (winning a trophy) is what I’ll get judged on.” Postecoglou told reporters on Monday.
“I could have been sitting here fifth last year, fifth this year — maybe people wouldn’t be waiting for the white smoke to see if it’s my last one — but they’d still be saying ‘You know Ange, that’s great but its all been done before. Until this club wins something, you haven’t made an impact.’
“I kind of knew throughout my tenure, that’s what I was going to be judged on so now we have an opportunity to do that.”
Tottenham fell just short of the Premier league title twice under Mauricio Pochettino and reached the Champions League final in 2019 when they lost to Liverpool.
There has been a regression since, but Postecoglou’s side have a golden opportunity to refresh the club’s trophy cabinet and the photos of trophy-winning teams of the past that adorn the stadium’s corridor, most of which Postecoglou points out are in black and white.
“When you look at the historical backdrop of this club and what it’s been through on the last 20-odd years, I feel like it could be a turning point in terms of the way the club is perceived but also more how it perceives itself,” he said.
“We’ve got to break the cycle. That’s the hurdle this club has to overcome because it’ll always be there. Until you actually do it, then you are fair game for people to say ‘you’ve always kind of fluffed it on the big stage.”
A spate of injuries to the likes of Christian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison and Son Heung-min has not helped Postecoglou in his second season.
Playmaker Maddison and Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall will miss the final and Tottenham are sweating on Dejan Kulusevski who hobbled off against Palace on Sunday.
Club talisman Son is back after a foot injury and came off the bench against Palace but Postecoglou admits he will be on tenterhooks in the build-up to Bilbao.
“Against a backdrop of some real difficulties and massive challenges the group has still found a way to get to the final,” Postecoglou he said. “I’m putting them in cotton wool for 10 days with the way things have gone this year.
“I just hope and pray that the football Gods have run out of sort of challenges to throw at us this year.”
Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025