Ange Postecoglou does not currently feel worthy of the Tottenham fans’ support but has promised to try bring them joy after being inspired by Australian singer Nick Cave.
It has been a difficult 2023 for Spurs after the club’s trophy drought extended and record goalscorer Harry Kane departed on the eve of the new Premier League season, but there is overwhelming support for Postecoglou.
The new man in the Tottenham hotseat was this week reminded of football’s significance to supporters when he listened to a podcast between Louis Theroux and his compatriot Cave.
“It is not about making the fans happy, it is about giving them joy and joy comes from suffering,” Postecoglou said ahead of Manchester United’s visit on Saturday.
“I am saying that because I listened to a podcast during the week and I thought it was a great description of what football is about.
“I am at that funny stage where supporters have been very, very supportive but I don’t expect that nor do I feel worthy of it.
“I still need to prove myself to our fans and the people at the club by our deeds rather than our words.
“Hopefully at the moment we are giving them sort of belief in what we’re trying to create but we need to back it up on a weekly basis.
“We need our supporters behind us. We want the Tottenham ground to be a place where the energy is all on our side, so hopefully that happens tomorrow.”
Postecoglou was serenaded for a number of minutes by the away fans at Brentford last weekend and a tifo display is planned for his first competitive home match in charge.
But he admitted: “It means a lot but I’m not comfortable with it. You love what it means because for the most part it’s blind faith.
“I haven’t yet delivered anything. Hopefully when the day comes that we deliver as a team it will mean something different then.
“I don’t dismiss it either, that’s people taking a huge leap of faith on me as an individual and I appreciate that. It’s a really good reminder of the responsibility that I have.”
While fans will get behind the team for the 5.30pm kick-off with Erik Ten Hag’s United, a protest will take place hours before arranged by Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust over the club’s decision to increase matchday ticket prices.
The ‘Call to Action’ from THST will ask for the club to reverse the increase – which they insist will price out loyal fans – and Postecoglou backed their right to “express their emotions” during Friday’s press conference.
He is also acutely aware of how important home form can be, adding: “It’s a beautiful stadium, absolutely, but as much as opposition teams enjoy playing in the venue, what we have got to make sure is they don’t enjoy the experience.
“What makes grounds difficult to play on is the experience you give teams, whether that’s the environment the fans create or the football you play against them.
“If you want to make it a place where we see it as an advantage, you have got to make sure the experience for opposition clubs is not a pleasant one.”
Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson made sure teams did not enjoy travelling to Old Trafford and Postecoglou reminisced about his meeting with the managerial great this week.
Postecoglou was in charge of South Melbourne when they lost 2-0 to United in the Club World Championship in 2000.
And more than two decades later he will try to secure his first Premier League win against Ferguson’s old club.
“I don’t think I take elements in my own game but people like Sir Alex, whether it’s consciously or unconsciously, they have an effect on you,” Postecoglou acknowledged.
“It’s not just football managers. I’m a pretty curious kind of guy and you learn things from all sorts of people and events.
“I’ve always tried to constantly nourish that part of my brain that is constantly curious about things.
“It was significant for me because we were coming from nowhere playing at one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, the Maracana, against one of the greatest teams at that time that football had seen, against one of the greatest managers.
“I had five or six minutes with him and apart from saying hello, I just listened. That’s the best way to have interaction with people like that. There’s no point me talking for five minutes, he’s not going to learn anything off me.”
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
'It's a joke' – Ten Hag slams reports of Man Utd fire sale
Erik ten Hag has angrily denied reports claiming almost every player in Manchester United's squad will be up for sale in the upcoming transfer window, describing them as "a joke".
United are officially out of the running for Champions League qualification and could yet end Ten Hag's second season at the helm out of Europe entirely, with Newcastle United and Chelsea among the teams looking to hunt down the sixth-placed Red Devils.
Big changes are expected in United's first transfer window under the stewardship of INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, who assumed full control of football operations when his purchase of a minority stake in the club was ratified in February.
Earlier this week, reports emerged suggesting United were entertaining offers for all but three of their players, namely Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Speaking at a press conference to preview Monday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace, Ten Hag shot down those suggestions.
"It's a joke! As long as I worked here, 200 players are apparently getting interest from Manchester United every summer, which is untrue. We did some research," Ten Hag said.
"Every summer, we sell every player in our squad, which is untrue. Be calm and take responsibility when you make up such a headline. It is total c**p."
Despite coming under fierce pressure this campaign, Ten Hag has repeatedly insisted he will remain at Old Trafford for the 2024-25 season.
He knows there is plenty to be done as the Red Devils enter a new era, saying: "There's always a lot of work, that's normal when you go into a transfer window.
"We are still below the levels of the expectations that Manchester United have, so we have to catch up.
"I am now going into my fifth window, two windows were okay, two windows we did nothing. We have to make new improvements in the summer.
"There is a base of this squad that is very good. Injuries had a big impact on our season."
Dyche still demanding 'the hard yards' from Everton despite Premier League safety
Sean Dyche claimed putting in "the hard yards" is what ultimately got Everton over the line when it came to securing their Premier League status.
Everton beat Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days in April to ensure their place in the top flight for another season.
That is despite two separate points deductions, worth eight points overall, having been dished their way this season. Everton are set to appeal the second decision at some point in May.
Last week's 1-0 win over Brentford saw Dyche's team move 11 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, meaning Friday's game against the Hatters no longer has so much riding on it for the Toffees, though Dyche will not let the hard work stop.
"I took over midway through so it is a bit different to last season. You try to re-model a group that's already been modelled, which is a challenge," Dyche told reporters.
"This season I think the biggest part of the success overall has been pockets of all different reasons. It is the work, work of the team I think we have got back to.
"We may lose it so much due to good performances when we were not winning but the hard yards as I call it, just doing the graft. The organisation, the will, the thirst and desire to work, to really work.
"I feel we still have good quality players here but it has to have a base to work from. You have to have a tactical understanding, you have to work, you have to do the hard yards, you have to cover the ground.
"Stats show for 60 minutes the ball is in play, if you're a player you're probably going to have it for one minute so what are you doing for the rest of it, for the other 59 minutes? You better be working because that's what the modern game demands."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luton Town – Ross Barkley
Barkley – who made 150 league appearances for Everton between 2011 and 2017 – has scored just one goal in 10 Premier League games against sides he has previously played for in the competition. However, that strike did come in a match at Kenilworth Road this season, a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.
Everton – Idrissa Gueye
Gueye played a crucial role in Everton's survival, scoring in the matches against Forest and Brentford. The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has netted three times this season, and the Toffees will be hoping to tie him down to a new contract.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Everton are winless in nine away Premier League games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December. Indeed, while five of the Toffees' first eight league wins this season came away from home, each of their last four have all been at Goodison Park.
Luton have beaten Everton twice this season, once in the league and once in the cup, with both of those 2-1 wins coming at Goodison Park.
The Hatters have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six). Despite this, they have only failed to score in one of their last 23 league games, a 2-0 defeat at league leaders Arsenal last month.
This is Everton's first away match against Luton since a 1-0 win in the League Cup in October 2007, with Tim Cahill netting an extra-time winner. Their last league visit to Kenilworth Road also ended in a 1-0 victory back in November 1991 thanks to a Robert Warzycha goal.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Luton Town – 36.7%
Everton – 34.6%
Draw – 28.7%
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