Tottenham ended their 17-year trophy drought by beating Man Utd in the Europa League final on Wednesday, but questions over the future of Ange Postecoglou remain
Tottenham’s Europa League heroes are said to not be expecting Ange Postecoglou to remain as boss next season. The Australian, who has been under intense pressure this season, stuck one to his critics on Wednesday night by ending the club’s long trophy drought.
A 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao meant Spurs lifted the Europa League – their first piece of silverware in 17 years – as well as securing a place in next season’s Champions League.
The result helped to salvage a season which has seen Spurs endure their worst domestic season in almost 50 years. Going into the final game of the Premier League season, the North Londoners are 17th in the table, having slumped to a staggering 21 league defeats.
It now remains to be seen whether their European exploits will be enough to convince Daniel Levy that Postecoglou deserves a third season in the Spurs dugout. But the Daily Mail reports that Tottenham ’s players do not expect that to happen, with a change now deemed more likely.
The report adds that alternatives to Postecoglou are already being discussed by Levy, with Fulham boss Marco Silva one of the names in the frame this summer. Brennan Johnson, who was credited with the winning goal over United, suggested that winning the trophy would be the perfect ‘mic drop’ for the manager.
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Captain Son Heung-min made it clear that he wants the 59-year-old to stay with the club. He said: “He won the trophy. Nobody else did it, so – look, it’s not up to me or the players, but we just have to look at the facts.
“At the fact that we hadn’t won in 17 years, but this is the day we finally won it. It’s the manager who wins the trophy. So we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario echoed Son’s impassioned plea for Postecoglou to stay and said: “Yeah, of course. He’s my gaffer. He’s the person who decided to bring me to this club. I just have to be very thankful to him for how much he believed since day one, since he wanted me to sign for the club.
“I’m very happy for him, for what we achieved together. It’s a brilliant night, he deserves this a lot.”
Postecoglou himself was less definitive, despite making it clear that he hopes to remain as Spurs boss. “I’ve had such a laser focus on winning this, whatever happens, happens,” he said when asked about his future.
“I’m the manager of the football club, that decision is not in my hands. All I know is having this [medal] around my neck means we have won a trophy. I don’t feel I have completed the job.
“We’re still building this team. It’s a young team, we need to add experience and now we are in the Champions League. I’ve been trying to build a team that can be challenging for the next four or five years.
“Since I came here I had the belief of trying to win something and we have done that and I want to build on it.”
Tottenham will celebrate with their jubilant fans during a parade on Friday evening. They will then round off their Premier League season on Sunday, when they face Brighton at home.
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