Tottenham fires coach Postecoglou despite winning Europa League to end trophy drought
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Tottenham fired manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday, two weeks after he won the Europa League and the club's first trophy in 17 years.
Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final, fulfilling his promise that he 'always' delivers silverware in his second season.
But, until then, Spurs had a dismal season as it finished 17th in the Premier League.
'Following a review of performances and after significant reflection, the club can announce that Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties,' Tottenham said in a statement.
Postecoglou spent two seasons at Tottenham after joining from Celtic in June 2023.
Spurs made a bright start in the Australian's first season, playing an attack-minded and entertaining style of football that led to high-scoring wins and losses. It narrowly missed out on a Champions League place by finishing fifth in 2023-24, but then saw a major dip in results this past season.
It's 17th-place finish was its lowest since the Premier League era began in 1992. Tottenham lost 22 of 38 games and ended the campaign just one position above the relegation places.
It meant that securing the club's first piece of silverware since 2008, while also qualifying for next season's Champions League, didn't save Postecoglou from losing his job.
'It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond,' the club said. 'This has been one of the toughest decisions we have had to make and is not a decision that we have taken lightly, nor one we have rushed to conclude. We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision.'
The Europa League trophy made Postecoglou only the third Spurs coach to taste European success, provoking an outpouring of affection from a previously split fanbase.
He even produced a mic-drop moment during the victory parade in front of an estimated 220,000 people, when he declared 'season three is better than season two.'
But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy thought differently and dismissed the man to deliver him a much-craved trophy.
___
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