Soccer-Former Spurs players back Postecoglou amid uncertain future

The Star

2 days ago

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - May 25, 2025, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou holds aloft the Europa League trophy during a lap of appreciation after the match Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs/File Photo
(Reuters) -As Tottenham Hotspur ponder the fate of manager Ange Postecoglou, former players of the Premier League side have thrown their support behind the Australian and urged the club's ownership to stay the course.
Postecoglou guided Tottenham to Europa League victory last month, ending the club's 17-year trophy drought, but they also endured their worst domestic season for nearly half a century and finished 17th in the Premier League.
The 59-year-old said last month he remained unsure of his future, with reports in British media on Monday saying Tottenham are set to make their decision this week.
Former Swiss international Ramon Vega, who made 64 league appearances for Tottenham, said letting the Australian go would be one of the biggest mistakes the club could make.
"I find it incredibly disrespectful to even think about sacking Ange Postecoglou," Vega said on social media on Monday.
"He has accomplished the impossible - something others with more significant credentials have failed to achieve."
Ex-Spurs and Ireland striker Robbie Keane said that in the eyes of the fans the Europa League win had made up for the woeful domestic campaign, and that Postecoglou had backed up his statement that he always wins something in his second season.
In his first season at the club, Spurs were top of the league in October but they eventually finished fifth and suffered early exits in the FA Cup and League Cup.
"There's no getting away from that (league form). I think everybody, certainly the manager, has admitted that," Keane told talkSPORT last week.
"But I tell you what – as someone who's played for Spurs, and my two kids are Spurs fans, I don't think anyone cared at the end, because winning the trophy – at the end of the day it's about winning.
"He's got a lot of stick, Ange, and to be fair to him, he's backed it up by his comment that he made about the second season and he put himself under a lot of pressure but he's done it. So I think now – give him time."
In an interview with Stats Perform, former Tottenham and United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel called on the club to back Postecoglou in the transfer window.
"I hope for Postecoglou they keep him and let him build in the summer and see how the start of the season goes," the American said.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)