25 November 2023 , 11:25
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Ange Postecoglou would've "loved" for his late father to have seen him flourish at Tottenham after a brilliant start to his career in England.
Postecoglou was appointed by Spurs in June and has won three consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month awards. The only managers to achieve that feat are Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
Tottenham suffered back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Wolves before the international break but are still fourth in the Premier League, just a point behind leaders City. Their form is remarkable considering they sold Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in August.
Although Postecoglou is loving life in north London, he does wish that his dad Jim - who passed away in 2018 - was still around to see his success. He's highlighted the sacrifices his late father made to give him a full-time career in football as a player and a manager.
Postecoglou spoke about his dad in an emotional interview with the Daily Mail. He revealed his impossible desire for Jim "just to have one night to see his son on the touchline" after "all the stuff we used to watch together in the middle of the night".
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Postecoglou, who won four senior caps for Australia as a player, became manager of South Melbourne in 1996 before spending seven years coaching the country's youth teams. He then managed three more Australian clubs and Greek outfit Panachaiki.
Postecoglou's managerial career started in Australia nearly three decades ago (Getty Images)Do you think Ange Postecoglou will win silverware with Tottenham? Let us know in the comments below!
Postecoglou was manager of Australia between 2013 and 2017 - winning the Asian Cup in 2015 - and led Japanese outfit Yokohoma F Marinos to a league title in 2019. Yet he didn't feel like he "made it" until Celtic appointed him in June 2021.
The experienced coach won five trophies during his two-year spell at Celtic - including consecutive league titles - to capture Tottenham's attention. Postecoglou admitted his dad "would be proud" of him - but he would still be giving his son "clips round the ear".
He added: "That was his way of complimenting me. (He would say), 'You have done well, but you could have made a couple of substitutions or you could have played this way'. That was just the relationship we had. Its not lost.
"One of my best mates lost his dad a couple of weeks ago. We are at that age now. The only words of comfort I can give those guys 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 have no doubt about that. He’s on the journey but it would have been nice to give him a bit of a glimpse of what his boy became."