Where it went wrong for Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham – Everything Celtic fans must know
Ange Postecoglou could be returning as Celtic boss soon, following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.
After the bombshell news regarding Rodgers’ departure, Postecoglou is now the favourite to return to Celtic, shortly after his Nottingham Forest exit.
Since Tottenham decided to sack Postecoglou, the Lilywhites haven’t looked back with the success of Thomas Frank.
Postecoglou was highly regarded at Celtic Park, but his spell in North London revealed much about his tenure at Tottenham.
Ange Postecoglou struggled with a severe injury crisis at Tottenham
Tottenham broke their trophy curse with Postecoglou at the helm, as the head coach guided the Lilywhites to a Europa League title last season.
Despite the success, Postecoglou was still sacked after Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League. However, a large reason for this was due to the Aussie deciding to focus on the Europa League, while battling a horrid injury crisis.
| Player | Injury | Length |
| Radu Dragusin | Cruciate ligament tear | January 2025 – Present |
| Destiny Udogie | Hamstring injury | December 2024 – February 2025 |
| James Maddison | Knee injury & calf strain | (Both between) January 2025 – June 2025 |
| Lucas Bergvall | Ankle injury | April 2025 – June 2025 |
These were just some of the many Tottenham injuries that hampered their Premier League season, as Postecoglou had to navigate his way through one of the most difficult periods of his managerial career.
In the 2024-25 season, Tottenham had players out for a combined total of over 1,500 days, according to The Spurs Web, as Postecoglou couldn’t believe how bad his luck had become.
Postecoglou was treated unfairly by Daniel Levy
Postecoglou’s relationship with the then-Tottenham owner Daniel Levy was well-documented, as it seemed like there was a shared consensus from the board around the Aussie.
The former Celtic boss was told that he needed to win a trophy at Spurs, and that’s what he delivered, something that Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and the other Lilywhite managers before him failed to do.
- Postecoglou was sacked shortly after Tottenham’s open-top bus parade with the Europa League trophy
- Many Tottenham fans wanted to keep him
- Postecoglou has since shared how he felt somewhat betrayed by Levy
Tottenham had a chance to build something off the back of Postecoglou’s trophy feat, but Levy decided to pull the trigger before resigning from his own position weeks later.
However, Tottenham and Levy may have felt that, despite last season’s trophy success, the style of play was not sustainable.
Postecoglou had varying stats with Tottenham
Postecoglou started remarkably well in his first season as Spurs head coach, as the Lilywhites only lost their first 2023-24 Premier League game in November.
Since then, stats didn’t make for pleasant viewing under Postecoglou, and there were always concerns over how far he could take Tottenham.
| Matches | Goals | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Errors leading to shots | Ground duels won per game | Average rating |
| 38 | 64 | 65 | 6 | 30 | 47.8% | 6.91 |
Last campaign in particular, Tottenham’s defence was leaky, and despite a positive return on the attacking front, the defensive woes were too large.
Now, with Celtic still hopeful of winning the Scottish Premiership, bringing ‘big Ange’ back to the Hoops may be seen as a gamble, but one that could work out once again.
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