Ange Postecoglou failed to land job at Championship club just four years ago

16 November 2023 , 07:37

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Ange Postecoglou got onto a four-man shortlist for the Huddersfield job (Image: Daniel Chesterton/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou has made a huge impression at Tottenham – but four years ago he failed to land the Huddersfield job.

Postecoglou has made history at Spurs, becoming the first coach to begin his Premier League career by winning three successive manager of the month awards. Although his fairytale start at Spurs has come back to earth with the bump of successive defeats, Postecoglou is still viewed as a breath of fresh air in north London.

The 58-year-old’s straight-talking and attacking philosophy has been welcomed by Tottenham supporters who have immediately taken to him. Postecoglou made his name with two successful years at Celtic before joining Spurs in the summer, but interestingly he could have been in English football much sooner.

Back in September 2019, Huddersfield’s director of football David Webb interviewed Postecoglou for the club’s vacant managerial position. The Australian, who was then in charge of Japanese side Yokohama Marinos, made the final shortlist of four but missed out to Danny Cowley, who joined from Lincoln to take over a winless Championship side.

“We had a couple of long-distance phone calls. I spoke to him and really liked him as a person,” Webb told The Sun. "He was someone who I felt would have fit Huddersfield really well because of his values and I liked the way he played.

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“I like authenticity and he was just himself. This is me, this is how I am, this is how I play, this is what I do. He’d done his homework on the Huddersfield squad. But where he was situated, we couldn’t move quick enough to get him over the line where we needed it to be.”

Danny Cowley got the Huddersfield job ahead of Ange Postecoglou (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

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Cowley’s Lincoln side had beaten Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup and arrived to replace Jan Siewert at the Terriers. In the end, it didn’t work out, with Cowley winning just 13 of his 40 matches in charge of the side. He was sacked in July 2020, with Carlos Corberan coming in to fill his shoes that summer.

Postecoglou stayed in Japan for another two years and landed the Celtic job in June 2021. He won successive Scottish league and cup doubles with the Glasgow club to earn the Spurs job this summer.

After a near-perfect start, Postecoglou has now suffered successive Premier League defeats with Spurs, who have dropped off the top of the table to fourth. Nine-man Spurs were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea before throwing away a lead in the final minutes to lose 2-1 to Wolves.

“Our character and commitment was there, don't dismiss that,” Postecoglou said after Mario Lemina’s last-gasp goal downed them at Molineux on the weekend. “There are plenty of positives to take and they will be stronger for it.” Spurs face a tough task against Aston Villa after the current international break.

Felix Keith