The key questions surrounding the future of Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou flipped the script in Bilbao with Tottenham's 17-year wait for silverware ended with Europa League glory and now the small matter of his future must be finalised.
The writing seemed on the wall, but after Postecoglou declared on the eve of the final his desire to stay, Spurs' subsequent 1-0 win over Manchester United has catapulted him into the list of club greats.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at why the pendulum has swung back in Postecoglou's favour and left chairman Daniel Levy with an enormous decision to make.
Why has Ange's future been up for debate?
25 – Tottenham have now lost 25 games in all competitions this season, their joint-most defeats in a single campaign in their history along with 1991-92 (25). Struth. pic.twitter.com/glQQ1R2dMe
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 16, 2025
Even though Postecoglou has achieved the holy grail at Tottenham, his team have broke club records in the Premier League this season with a new worst tally of defeats (21) and could finish in their lowest ever position of 17th. Injuries have contributed, with a crisis during the winter months the start of a downturn in top-flight results, which never recovered and increased scrutiny on the 59-year-old. A 'misinterpreted' celebration at Chelsea towards his own fans in April did not help, but strong European form always provided a buffer to critics and he delivered upon his bold Autumn declaration of always winning in his second season to earn adulation from long-suffering supporters.
So, now Ange stays or is this Ten Hag all over again?
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Comparisons with former Man United boss Erik ten Hag had already been made prior to the final. Ten Hag had been expected to leave before an FA Cup final triumph last May and eventually stayed, only to be dismissed months later. Postecoglou has taken umbrage with this narrative and the situations are wildly different. Ten Hag deserves credit for an FA Cup win over Manchester City, but United won silverware the previous season and only played six matches in the competition. Spurs, meanwhile, had gone 17 years without a trophy, had failed to score in their previous four finals and played 14 fixtures before Bilbao. Postecoglou has won 15 of his 22 cup matches this term, with Tottenham excellent in two-legged ties with Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt after they navigated an all-or-nothing clash with AZ Alkmaar. With much-needed adaptability shown, it would be unjust to suggest this cup triumph was fortunate.
What have the players got to say?
A raft of Tottenham players were asked about the position of their under-fire head coach and while eager to focus on the moment, captain Son Heung-min, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario were effusive in their praise for the 59-year-old. Son admitted: 'He won the trophy. Nobody did it. Look, it's not up to me or the players, but we just have to look at the facts. At the fact that we haven't won in 17 years and this is the day we finally won it. It's the manager who wins the trophy.' Vicario added Postecoglou was 'the first to start to believe' and 'drove us brilliantly' before Van de Ven hailed the 'big role' of the former Celtic boss.
That's decided then, Levy will keep Ange or could he look elsewhere?
Ange, a man of his word… 🏆✔️ #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/DnhMXeOTZi
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 21, 2025
Tottenham were being linked with other managers as far back as March, with Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth reportedly high up on the club's wish list, with three other Premier League coaches in Thomas Frank, Oliver Glasner and Marco Silva regularly mentioned as potential candidates. Yet, can Levy justify dismissing Postecoglou to bring in someone to start another rebuild that does not possess a world-class CV? With fans firmly back on side ahead of Friday's trophy parade, Postecoglou suddenly feels the right man to guide this relatively young squad through the challenges ahead – assuming lessons have been learned, which has been hinted at recently. Only Levy will know what happens next but after Postecoglou delivered what Tottenham's much-maligned chairman always craved, the Australian could be back for season three.
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