By Simon Wilkes
James Maddison has urged Tottenham’s hierarchy to keep faith with manager Ange Postecoglou, saying the players “have that winning feeling now”.
Spurs did not win much in the Premier League last season, with a final-day 4-1 battering by Brighton & Hove Albion on home soil their 22nd loss of a dismal league campaign.
But Postecoglou delivered the goods in Europe, helping the club secure their first European trophy in 41 years by seeing off Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao.
Trophy parade
That vital victory secured a place in next season’s Champions League and led to a trophy parade for the players and manager to enjoy.
However, a 17th-placed finish in the league table and just 11 wins in 38 Premier League games left a sour taste in the mouth, with chairman Daniel Levy unerringly quiet over former Celtic boss Postecoglou’s future in London.
The Australian, for his part, is almost incredulous over the speculation regarding his future, having ended a 17-year trophy drought for Spurs.
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The Poste-man always delivers
England midfielder Maddison is hoping Postecoglou gets the nod for a third season at the club, saying his self-belief rubs off on the players.
The former Leicester City playmaker told Sky Sports: “Managers and clubs can go long periods without winning trophies, but he’s a man who’s always had success.
“His biggest strength is his self-belief in what he does, and that feeds off into us. That’s been installed into us in Europe this year in all of the away games, even the ones in the group stage.
“In the round of 16, we had a really bad performance away at AZ Alkmaar, and he went heavy on us because you just know he’s a winner, and we turned it around in the second leg and we’re in the quarters.
“And every step we got closer and closer, and we believed more, and now we’re winners and no one can ever take that away from us.
“It’s a tough competition to win. We managed to get over the line with the gaffer, all together, all of us as a club – we all win together.
“Hopefully that, like the gaffer said, can keep the feeling, and we have that winning feeling now, and we know what it takes to win.”
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Puzzled by rumours
Postecoglou, meanwhile, is baffled by the rumours around his position and wants to use the Europa League success as a “defining moment” for the club.
He told a press conference: “I’ll be honest – I’ve been finding it really weird talking about my future when we’ve done something unprecedented.
“I’ve got no doubt that this could be a real sort of defining moment for this club.
“Wherever I’ve been, I’ve kind of made an impact where I’ve brought success to a club that hasn’t had for a while, and you just have to look at those clubs’ trajectory even after I’ve left – they’re still competing for things.
“I really think this is a moment in time where this club can really push on and be a real contender for honours on a yearly basis.
“I’m so confident about what we can build at this football club, and I want to push on and take it to the next level and we’ll see whether that happens or not.”
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