Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has paid an emotional tribute to his late father and wishes he could see the progress he has made as a manager.

The Australian gave an in-depth insight into his life and the culture he is trying to bring to Spurs in an exclusive interview with Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman for Mail Sport, discussing his refusal to retreat from an attacking philosophy and his football education. .

He also talked about his early family life, how his father inspired him and how he would have liked to see him go from strength to strength on the sidelines.

The 58-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top management ranks over the past two years. In his early career he enjoyed huge success with clubs in his native Australia and Japan, before moving to Celtic and making a statement with his attractive style of football, winning the treble in his second season.

He told his wife Georgia that he had finally ‘made it’ in football after joining Celtic, but would have liked to share that moment with his father Jim, who passed away in 2018.

The Australian said he wished Jim – who passed away in 2018 – could see his progress as a manager

Postecoglou has now exceeded his own expectations by making the big move to the Premier League. Despite many doubting his credentials when he arrived in North London, he is flourishing and delivering results for the team.

Spurs are fourth in the table after eight wins so far this season – something Jim would have liked to see.

“He was a man of his generation, but he mellowed as he got older and it took so long for me to get here, but I would have liked him to have just seen this, to get a glimpse of it,” said he told Mail Sport.

“All those sacrifices he made just to see his son on the sidelines one night. All those things we watched together in the middle of the night. Father and son. So just to see me there.

Postecoglou is enjoying a positive start at Tottenham after his breakthrough at Celtic

He said football had a huge impact on bringing his family together after they migrated from Greece to Australia

Postecoglou says he has carried the teachings his father gave him with him throughout his life, as he spoke of the enormous influence he had on him, including tough love and the guarantee that he always had something to strive for.

“Yes, he would be proud, but he would have given me clips on the ear, mate, for doing things wrong, because that was his way of complimenting me,” he added. ‘You did well, but you could have made a few substitutions or you could have played like that. That was just the relationship we had. It is not lost.

‘One of my best friends lost his father a few weeks ago. We are at that age now. The only comforting word I can give those boys is that I see him in me. I look in the mirror and see him.

“That’s his expression or I say something and I know it’s him talking. We carry them with us. I do not doubt that. He’s on a journey, but it would have been nice to give him an idea of ​​what his son turned out to be.”

Postecoglou said he carries his father with him and sees him when he looks in the mirror

Elsewhere in the interview, Postecoglou – who was born in Greece before fleeing to Australia as a child – talked about how growing up watching football matches in the 1970s and 1980s brought his family together. sport.

“It was something that took us away from our existence,” he said. “We were an immigrant family trying to adapt to life in a country where they loved sports that we didn’t understand. ‘

As a child it was easier for me to understand cricket, but my father lived in Australia for 50 years and still didn’t understand it.

“But because we were struggling with so many things, the football was great. We understood. Dad understood. Everything we have experienced with my family or friends in the field of football has had a huge impact on us.’

Ange Postecoglou has shared his frustration at being sacked due to his Australian background in his big interview with Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman, claiming that if he had struggled at Celtic it could have closed the door to Australian coaches in the future . .

The Antipodean coach has won three consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month awards following his move to Tottenham this summer and has overseen the club’s fast start, which saw him finish in fourth place ahead of the international break .

But despite his success so far in England – and his dominance at Celtic in Scotland – Postecoglou believes his career was previously underestimated because of his background.

“I never used it as a drive to prove people wrong,” Postecoglou said of his nationality. ‘But I did get frustrated.

“Because I knew that with all the work I’d done and the experience I had, I thought I deserved a chance, and the only reason I didn’t get one was because I was Australian.

The ex-Celtic coach has won three Premier League Manager of the Month awards on the trot

But Postecoglou highlighted his frustration at being pigeonholed in the past due to his Australian heritage (pictured as head coach of Melbourne Victory in 2013)

“And whatever success I’d had, people were very dismissive of it. I didn’t think it was fair, because whatever match you win, it’s still a match, right? You still have to be the first team.

‘Even Celtic is being sent away a bit. “Oh, it’s Celtic…you should win every year…”

“So I haven’t used it to prove people wrong, but I enjoy the fact that I’m here because hopefully it breaks some stereotypes and opens people’s minds to the fact that I’m here for no other reason then my work.

‘I am not here because of my playing career, my profile or my connections. I am here because of my work, Postecoglou added. “There are a lot more people like me that you might be able to look to or look beyond the normal paths you take to find coaches and managers.”

After his playing career was ended prematurely by a knee injury, the 58-year-old plied his trade as a manager in his home country before eventually coaching the Socceroos.

His move to club football came with a move to Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos in 2018, where he guided the side to their first J-League title in 15 years.

At Celtic, Postecoglou enjoyed a prodigious period of success, with the Glasgow side winning two Scottish Premierships, two league cups and the Scottish Cup in just two seasons.

But Postecoglou is convinced that his passion for the game is not so much an outlier but in line with a national obsession with the game.

After rising through the ranks in Australia, Postecoglou was appointed head coach of the Socceroos

A move to club coaching saw him transform the fortunes of Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos

Postecoglou enjoyed two superlative seasons at Celtic, during which they were almost completely dominant

Despite his background, the 58-year-old wants to be seen on an equal footing with his peers

As such, he recognizes the ‘burden’ of being identified as an ‘Australian coach’ and the potential for his career – and potential failures – to provide a blueprint for others.

“(My success) is for the whole of Asia, not just for Australia. The entire region is passionate about football,” Postecoglou added. ‘If Tottenham had been a disaster or if Celtic hadn’t succeeded, it would have been very, very difficult to open the door for another Australian.

‘I would have effectively passed on all the frustrations I felt to another three generations. So there is a burden, you know, but now you hope that people will look at things differently and part of me also wanted to get rid of the label of being the Australian coach.

‘I’m just a manager who has worked his way up to be here just like everyone else. If they remove that Australian label and just want to talk about me as a manager, I think people will see me on an equal footing with everyone else.”

Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham’s incoming manager, has revealed his passion for cricket as he watched his fellow Aussies dominate England in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on day three.

Postecoglou, 57, declared ‘there’s nothing like the G’ – a reference to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground – before detailing how his enthusiasm for the sport dates back to his childhood.

“I’m a huge fan, I loved growing up,” he said.

“I have a lot of fond memories of playing in the front and back yard, I love the game.

‘I grew up in the time of [Dennis] Lille, [Jeff] Thomson, [Rod] Swamp and [Allan] Border…and I also remember staying up late to watch the Ashes when it was played in England.”

The hosts threw away some of their wickets at the crease and now face a mountain to climb as Australia enjoy a 221-run lead heading into day four (pictured, England paceman Jimmy Anderson)

It was the first trip to the home of cricket for ‘Aussie Ange’ – and it turned out to be an unforgettable journey.

The tourists dominated day three, gaining a lead of 221 runs on stumps.

England threw away a large number of wickets – particularly Harry Brook after half a century of posting – to give Pat Cummins’ men the upper hand.

When it comes to football matters, Postecoglou has already started laying the foundations in North London.

The club announced the signing of James Maddison on Thursday, with the former Leicester midfielder revealing how a phone call with the Aussie persuaded him to join the project.

“I feel a hunger for the place,” Maddison said in his first interview with the club.

Postecoglou recently convinced former Leicester star James Maddison to join Spurs

“You come here and you get a feel for the club and the people, everything around it, and it feels great. Like I said, I’m very happy and can’t wait to get started.

“I spoke to the manager, spoke to [chairman] Daniel [Levy] and they both spoke highly of everything about the club and about me.

It was very important to talk to the manager, how he’s going to be, with that little bit of the unknown, so to have a decent talk with him and get his take on things, how he’s leading the Spurs this season see go.

“He said one thing to me on the call, I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this, but he said, ‘Whether you come or not you’re going to see a whole different Spurs team under me’, and that kind of stuck with me when he said that. I thought ‘wow, there’s the same confidence I have in myself’.

Postecoglou has also confirmed his backroom staff, with his former Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak on board as an assistant coach.