“Wow”Tottenham boss wins Manager of the Month with his impressive start at Spurs, despite the challenges which remain at North London club

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou wins Manager of the Month with his impressive start at Spurs, despite the challenges which remain at North London club

Ange Postecoglou has scooped the Manager of the Month with 10 points from his first four Premier League games but did not need reminding Nuno Espirto Santo lost his job within 52 days of claiming the same prize at the start of his Tottenham tenure.

His opening weeks at Tottenham, however, were fraught, with Roma pulling out of one pre-season friendly and another game washed out in Thailand.

Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich before the opener against Brentford when three of his back five made Premier League debuts and Cristian Romero was concussed in the opening minutes.

 

‘People seem to think maybe it’s easy, it’s not but that’s OK,’ Postecoglou added. ‘Yes, it looks like this has been smoother than others but I can assure you it’s been just as challenging if not more challenging because of the stakes in the Premier League.’

 

Among the others were South Melbourne, where he quit work as a bank teller to become manager only to find his job on the line after a poor start and a board meeting called for after a match.

‘We won that game, a scrappy 1-0,’ said Postecoglou. ‘There was going to be a vote of confidence in me apparently, and they didn’t have it. Our president, who is a smart cookie, said he was sick.

 

‘I don’t sit here and think this has come to me or been served on a platter.. I’ve worked really hard and it’s been a really tough period, nothing like my honeymoon.’

 

If Tottenham beat Sheffield United, it will represent their best start to the season since 1965.

‘If… that beautiful word if,’ said Postecoglou. ‘And what if we don’t? Does it mean everything has been a disaster? We’ve had a promising start. Encouraging, but we’re a month into a long season.’

 

Richarlison will be involved against the Blades despite revealing this week he needed psychological help to cope with the stress of off-field issues surrounding his advisors.

Sometimes players fall into the trap of thinking their lives should be perfect because of the position they’re in but that’s not how life works,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Things you do don’t make you immune from what life throws at you.’