‘He’s done a great job’

Tottenham players James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray all hope boss Ange Postecoglou remains in charge of the club.

Despite leading Spurs to Europa League glory, there is uncertainty over the future of Postecoglou due to their dismal Premier League campaign.

Tottenham finished 17th – their lowest finish since promotion to the top flight in 1978 – as they became the first side in top-flight history to lose 22 games in a 38-game season and not be relegated.

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But Postecoglou delivered on his second-season trophy promise to end the club’s 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League and thus earning Champions League qualification next season.

Despite clinching the club’s first European silverware in 41 years, there is doubt over his position after Spurs chairman Daniel Levy failed to provide clarity on his future in his end-of-season message.

But, two days after the final-day 4-1 home defeat to Brighton, the Australian, who delivered the killer line that “season three is always better than season two” at last week’s trophy parade, received strong support from some of his players.

When asked by Sky Sports News whether Postecoglou deserves a third season in charge, Maddison, speaking at his Charity Golf Day, which raises money for three different charities, said: “Yeah, he’s been brilliant.

“Even at the start of the season, saying ‘I don’t usually win things [in my second season], I always win things’. It’s one of them, we knew that would create a big uproar in the media, with you lot never shutting up about it. But never once did I stop believing that he meant that.

“The season three line, that was iconic as well. He’s got them in the locker, them motivational mic drop moments.

“Managers and clubs can go long periods without winning trophies, but he’s a man who’s always had success. His biggest strength is his self-belief in what he does, and that feeds off into us. That’s been installed into us in Europe this year in all of the away games, even the ones in the group stage.

“In the round of 16, we had a really bad performance away at AZ Alkmaar, and he went heavy on us because you just know he’s a winner, and we turned it around in the second leg and we’re in the quarters.

“And every step we got closer and closer, and we believed more, and now we’re winners and no one can ever take that away from us.

“It’s a tough competition to win, we managed to get over the line with the gaffer, all together, all of us as a club, we all win together. Hopefully that, like the gaffer said, can keep the feeling, and we have that winning feeling now, and we know what it takes to win.”

‘Ange has done a great job’

Teenage midfielders Bergvall and Gray, who were also part of Maddison’s Charity Golf Day, also backed Postecoglou.

Questioned how much he wanted to see the ex-Celtic boss stay at Spurs next season, Bergvall told Sky Sports News: “One hundred per cent.

“I think he’s done a great job. It’s not been easy for any of us, especially because of all the injuries, but as he said, he always wins things in his second year, and that’s true.”

Asked whether Postecoglou deserved another season, Gray told Sky Sports News: “Yeah, definitely.

“It’s been a great season this year, and it’s been a rollercoaster of a season as well.

“We’ve had some really tough times, and we’ve stuck together.

“He’s big on things like family, and I think that was the main thing that helped us to get the final and win the final is our morals of what we’re like as a team.

“We believe in each other, and we were like brothers going out there on the pitch in the final.”

Ange: Why am I even being questioned on my Spurs future?!

Following Sunday’s home loss to Brighton, Postecoglou admitted his bemusement at the “weird” speculation over his future.

He said at his post-match press conference: “I’ll be honest, I’ve been finding it really weird talking about my future when we’ve done something unprecedented.

“I’ve had to answer the questions because no one else at the club is kind of in the position to do so, I guess. But I can’t answer that question about me and my future, and part of me is kind of thinking, well, why have I been asked that question? But it is what it is.

“And I’ve got no doubt, though, that this could be a real sort of defining moment for this club because wherever I’ve been, I’ve kind of made an impact where I’ve brought success to a club that hasn’t had for a while, and you just have to look at those clubs’ trajectory even after I’ve left, they’re still competing for things.

“I really think this is a moment in time where this club can really push on and be a real contender for honours on a yearly basis.”

Asked for his gut feeling on his future, Postecoglou replied: “My gut feeling is that I feel, right now, that I’ve done something that no one believed I could. And I shouldn’t be here, sitting there, talking about it. That’s my feeling, but it is what it is.

“And probably I’m talking now because I’m tired, mate. It’s done. I don’t have to think about another game. I just want to go on a break and enjoy my family and reflect on being part of something unbelievably special.

“I’ve been fortunate to be in this position a number of times, but seeing those scenes yesterday and the people who’ve reached out to me and talked to me about how it’s affected and what’s happened the last couple of days, that’s just a beautiful thing and I just want to enjoy that.

“To be honest, the rest of it, I don’t even want to be talking about it. I just think it’s unnecessary.

“You’re right to ask the question, but you’re asking the person who can’t give you that answer. And I guess, even for you guys, you wouldn’t be asking it if there wasn’t a doubt. But I can’t answer it. There’s nothing I can say that can answer that question. Other people can, so from my perspective, it doesn’t diminish the achievement.

“I’m so confident about what we can build at this football club, and I want to push on and take it to the next level and we’ll see whether that happens or not.”

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