By Matt Law
Ange Postecoglou is heading towards the Tottenham Hotspur exit, whether his team wins the Europa League or not.
Spurs suffered their 18th Premier League defeat of the season against Nottingham Forest on Monday night to leave the club 16th in the table.
Postecoglou’s team are on course to surpass their club record of 19 defeats in a Premier League campaign, but can still save their season by winning the Europa League and qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is under intense pressure.Credit: Getty Images
That may yet save him from the sack, but there is a growing sense that Postecoglou is likely to leave Tottenham at the end of the season, regardless of the outcome of the Europa League campaign, either through being dismissed or a mutual parting.
Tottenham face Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals and the Australian could be sacked if his side fails to progress or lose the final against Athletic Bilbao or Manchester United.
Lifting the trophy and maintaining his record of winning silverware in his second season at clubs would give Postecoglou the opportunity to leave with his head held high and having delivered on his promises of changing the playing style and achieving success.
Postecoglou would become Spurs’ first trophy-winning manager since Juande Ramos in 2008, but even if he falls short in the Europa League, he will be aware that a number of highly rated coaches have succeeded before and after their time at Spurs.
There has been sympathy for the challenges Postecoglou has faced in terms of injuries this season, while he was investigating a suspected leak from within the club.
He has also had to manage the team against a backdrop of protests aimed at chairman Daniel Levy and owners ENIC, while there has been dismay at some of the decision-making.
Postecoglou has insisted that he has “no idea” whether he will remain as head coach beyond the end of the season and told the media, “you’re going to have to put up with me for a bit longer”, following the Europa League quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ange Postecoglou reacts during Tottenham’s match against Nottingham Forest earlier this week.Credit: Getty Images
It remains to be seen whether the outlook on Postecoglou’s future could change if Tottenham finish the season well and win the Europa League to prompt greater optimism about their prospects under him.
Tottenham will be wary of finding themselves in a similar situation to Manchester United, who had been set to sack Erik ten Hag until he won last season’s FA Cup. Instead, United reacted to the 2-1 win over Manchester City by triggering a one-year extension in Ten Hag’s contract, but then sacked him less than four months later following a poor start to the season.
Spurs sacked Ramos eight months after the Spaniard guided them to League Cup success.
Some sources claim one of Postecoglou’s key allies and biggest supporters, chief football officer Scott Munn, will leave this summer and the club have confirmed the appointment of former Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.
Telegraph Sport revealed that Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Fulham’s Marco Silva will be among the leading candidates to replace Postecoglou, although Bournemouth are fighting to keep Iraola and are optimistic of doing so.
Mauricio Pochettino has made it clear that he would like to return to Tottenham at some point, although the USA manager has next summer’s World Cup on the horizon, while technical director Johan Lange is a fan of Brentford’s Thomas Frank.
Could Cristian Romero, right, challenging Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, be headed to La Liga? Credit: AP
Romero: I’d love to play in La Liga
Uncertainty over Postecoglou and whether Tottenham will be in the Champions League next season have held up the club’s transfer plans for this summer.
Defender Cristian Romero, who has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, has increased speculation that he could leave for Spain by admitting to Argentine journalist Gastón Edul that he “would love to play in La Liga”.
“It depends on a lot of things. We’ll see after the [English] championship is over,” he said. “The truth is, I haven’t spoken to my agent yet, but I’m open to anything. My goal is always to grow and go to new places to continue developing.”
Romero added: “Above all else, I try to take one day at a time. There are two months left until the end of the season and I’m always thinking about performing at my best. We’re in the Europa League semi-finals. It’s an important step for the club which hasn’t reached this stage for so many years. I’d like to win it.”
