Ange Postecoglou has reflected candidly on his time in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, opening up on the challenges he faced in trying to manage the club.

In his first season, Postecoglou guided Tottenham to a 5th-place finish in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification.

However, he believes the club’s transfer limitations prevented them from building on that momentum in the following campaign.

“In my first season at Spurs, we finished 5th. Okay how do you go from 5th from really challenging?”

“Well we had to sign players who were Premier League ready. Finishing 5th didn’t get us Champions League and we did not have the money so we ended up signing Dom Solanke and three teenagers.”

“I was keen on him (Solanke), I really like him. But I was looking at Pedro Neto, Mbeumo, Semenyo, Marc Guehi…”

“That’s what the big clubs would have done. Those 3 teenagers are outstanding, I think they will be great for Spurs in the future but they are not going to get you from 5th to 4th or 3rd.”

The Australian manager, who took charge in June 2023, managed Spurs for 101 matches in all competitions, recording 47 wins, 15 draws and 39 defeats during his tenure. Despite inconsistency in the Premier League, his spell will be remembered for delivering Europa League glory and ending the club’s 17-year wait for major silverware.