‘I don’t think…’: Ange feels some Tottenham players are yet to buy into his methods

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has now revealed that the majority of the squad and staff is yet to buy into his methods completely.

The 58-year-old Australian manager has introduced a free-flowing attacking style of football since his arrival and Tottenham have impressed one and all with their approach. However, their performances have been inconsistent and they are yet to grind out results regularly.

While Postecoglou is fully aware of the fact that Tottenham will have to cut out the mistakes and improve defensively, he feels that the players and the staff might be lacking complete belief in his ideas.

Postecoglou told Standard Sport: “The question for me always is: are they doing it because I’m telling them to do it or are they doing it because they believe it?

“And that’s always the process you’re going through. It’s inevitable at the start that most of it is happening because you’re telling them to do it, so at least I’m making an impact, at least they’re listening to me — that’s one box ticked.

“But for it to truly evolve into something, it’s because the players believe it. And I’ve seen the players growing into it, but we’re not there yet.

“It’s great they’re listening to me, but it is challenging to play this way all the time. You can’t just dip your toe in, you’ve got to be all in. I’ve seen growth within the group for that, but they’ve still got a way to go.

“In my experience, the true belief comes when you’ve got the majority of the squad and staff [to a point] where if I didn’t turn up, they would still go about things in the same way. I don’t think we’re at the majority yet.”

It will be interesting to see if Tottenham can finish the season strongly and secure European qualification for the next season. Champions League qualification is in real doubt now after defeats to Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea in the recent outings. Aston Villa are currently seven points clear of Tottenham in fourth place.

There is no doubt that Tottenham have impressed with their attacking approach this season, but there have been calls for them to adopt a more balanced approach. They have been vulnerable defensively because of their attack-minded style and the North London outfit will have to be more careful defensively if they want to compete for major trophies.

It is evident that the Tottenham players are still getting used to the new system and they will need time for refinement. With the right additions at the end of the season, there is no reason why Tottenham cannot bounce back strongly and perform better next season. If they can cut out the defensive mistakes from their game, they could become a formidable unit in the coming months.