A bullish Ange Postecoglou said he will “never be a clown” and insisted his work at Spurs is not done – even if they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final.
In an explosive press conference ahead of Wednesday’s game in Bilbao, the 59-year-old hit out at a newspaper headline which described him as “teetering between hero and clown” amid speculation over his future as the club’s head coach.
Spurs’ poor Premier League campaign, which has seen them slump to 17th place on 38 points, having lost a club-record 21 games, has led to suggestions that he could leave even if he guides them to their first trophy in 17 years in the Europa League.
But Postecoglou insisted his future is not a distraction and urged his team to seize their chance to make history by winning a trophy which would also earn Spurs a Champions League spot.
“I’ll tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown and I never will be, mate,” he told a reporter in reference to the article relating to his Spurs legacy.
“I’m really disappointed you’d use such terminology about a person who, for 26 years, without any favours from anyone, has worked his way to a position where he’s leading out a club in a European major competition.
“For you to suggest that, somehow, us not being successful means that I’m a clown… I’m not really sure how to answer that question.”
Postecoglou has faced repeated questions relating to his future in recent months but insisted his sole focus is on ensuring his players are ready to take their opportunity to win silverware.
“Does it matter, really?” he said when asked about his future. “It doesn’t matter because the reality of it is the opportunity is the same for me and, more importantly, for the club.
“I’ve said before, whatever happens beyond tomorrow is kind of irrelevant when you think about the opportunity that exists right now and that is to provide something special for this football club, for the supporters, for everyone who’s worked so hard, not just this year, but for the last 15, 16 years since we last won a trophy and 41 years since a European trophy.
“If I were worried about my tenure at this football club, it’s fair to say we wouldn’t be in this position as I would’ve been distracted long ago. I’m pretty good at making sure all my focus is on giving this football club the best opportunity it has had for a while to do something special.
“Whatever happens after that, I’m very comfortable that I’ll continue on trying to win trophies wherever I am.”
Guglielmo Vicario says he wants to create history for Spurs fans by winning the Europa League
The Spurs boss insisted he has not spoken to his players about his future ahead of the final, adding: “Again, that would not really be helpful in what is before us right now.
“I’ve said to the lads from day one, nothing is guaranteed in life, nothing is guaranteed in sport, so you’ve got to make sure you take every opportunity before you.
“That’s what I’ve done my whole career. I’ve been in this position before where the big game was the last game I managed, so it’s not unusual territory for me and I’ve always navigated that pretty well.
“For me, nothing is more important than my responsibility at this football club and to its fans tomorrow. Me and the players’ minds are on one thing and that’s trying to create something special.”
‘I don’t think my job is done here’
Pressed again on his future, Postecoglou insisted: “I wouldn’t be the first person who changes jobs. We all change jobs.
“My future’s assured. I’ve got a beautiful family, I’ve got a great life, I’ll keep on winning trophies until I finish, wherever that is, so don’t worry about my future.
“My future is not entwined with anything. Provided, God willing, my health remains and my beautiful family and friends are beside me… there’s nothing wrong with my future.
“Don’t stress. Sleep easy at night. I’ll be OK.
“I don’t think my job is done here. I really feel like we’re building something and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerate that.
“I still think there’s a lot of work to be done, that’s quite obvious with the challenges we’ve had this year, which are well chronicled. There’s some reasoning in the context of that, but also there’s been some growth that I’d like to see through.
“Whether that happens or not is not that important right now. I don’t think this job’s finished and I certainly feel like there’s some growth there that we can take this club to where it needs to be.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
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