Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou believes he has the club’s full support to make the “drastic change” needed in the playing squad and staff to turn his side into a top team.
In a challenging press conference, sandwiched between Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea and Sunday’s visit to Liverpool, Postecoglou said the club had “brought in my vision” but suggested the squad could ultimately be “unrecognizable” from the team he inherited. .
The Australian’s approach has come under renewed scrutiny following derby defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea this week, but he added he has “absolutely no” doubts about his playing style and said he would welcome the challenge of a difficult rebuild “like”.
Ahead of the visit to Stamford Bridge, Postecoglou acknowledged that “a majority” of his players and staff still lacked “real belief” in his approach and says he is preparing to wield the ax in the summer.
“We need change. Change has to happen,” Postecoglou said.
‘You can’t want to change course and expect the same people to join in. That’s just not going to happen.
“We’ve had two spells and we’ve certainly had some player development, but when I say we’ve still got a long way to go, that’s what I mean.
“It’s impossible to say there will be drastic changes and still expect everyone to make that journey.
“It’s not because we want to try. It’s just that we’re going to play a certain way, we’re going to train a certain way and we’re going to have a certain mentality.
‘And that doesn’t apply to everyone.
“Whether it’s Liverpool or Arsenal, if you look at the start of their career, by the time they win the league or have success, the team is almost unrecognizable.
‘That’s the reality when you change [and we’ve] has made a big turn here, so that’s definitely the case [for us]Yes.”
A number of senior players have already left the club since Postecoglou’s appointment last summer, with Harry Kane joining Bayern Munich on the eve of the season. Former captain Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier froze ahead of their January transfer.
Postecoglou says there will be more “difficult decisions” to come, and suggested there could be turnover among both his staff and players.
“We have already made difficult decisions. We have had a number of experienced players leave the club at the start of the year, some by choice,” he continued.
“But again, I feel like if we’re really going to change, that means change. You have to make decisions.
“Some of those decisions aren’t that difficult because whether it’s a player or a staff member, they realize it themselves and say, ‘You know what, I have a better path somewhere else and you have a better path here.’
But some of them you have to make just for the sake of change, not necessarily because they don’t fit into the picture, but you still have to change. I have to change this team, I have to.
“Because I have to build a team that I think can play our football.
“For that to happen, there have to be exits. I can’t just keep everyone here and keep bringing players in. So sometimes you let people go who you think is a good player, but how am I going to change if I don’t .”
Many of Postecoglou’s Spurs predecessors, including Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, wanted to overhaul their squads but ultimately became frustrated by what they saw as a lack of support from the club.
Asked whether he is confident he will have the full support to transform the squad, Postecoglou said: “All I can say is that at the moment I feel that the club has adopted my vision and that it is up to me.
“I’m not going to do it alone, that’s for sure. I’ve never had great support wherever I’ve been and right now I have all the support I need. I really feel like the club has adopted the vision that I have and it is up to me to hold on to it.”
Consecutive defeats to Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea have led to fresh criticism of Postecoglou’s football, which had never been tested in any of Europe’s top competitions before joining Spurs.
Former Celtic and Yokohama manager F. Marino understands the doubts but insists his own faith has never wavered and says he is relishing the challenge of a difficult rebuild.
‘What do you think they said when I arrived in Japan? What do you think they said when I arrived in Scotland?’ he said.
“I get [the scepticism]. I understand that. It’s legit until success comes and then it becomes illegitimate.
“My role is to navigate us to where I think we will be successful. It’s not new to me. It’s not something I haven’t been asked before.
“I navigated it exactly the same way.
“But that doesn’t mean those questions shouldn’t be there, because until you achieve something, people are obviously going to try to figure out if my ideas are going to work here.
“That’s understandable. Until you have success, those questions will of course remain.
“But do I have doubts? Absolutely none. I have clarity when it comes to building a club that will be successful.
“I believe what I believe, to my core. I will stand on the highest level, die a noble death, believing in what I believe.
“If I put it this way: nothing has come my way that has shown me that I need to change.
“So like anything in life, once you feel like something is working for you, something you believe in, is bringing you success – and it is – then you take it further.
“Maybe the Premier League is a step too far, mate. Who knows? Maybe, maybe. But I’ll still be standing on that hill, wounded, with my dying breath saying ‘I believe, I really believe’.
“But I do, I really do. And as long as I’m here, that’s what you’re going to see. You’re going to see this team play the way I want to.”
“When everything goes smoothly, you almost think: what on earth am I doing here? You want the challenge. We are all tested there.
“I love that aspect of it and I’ve had it in every job I’ve had.
“Imagine the criticism and pressure we will face when we are on the threshold of success at this club.
“Can you imagine the questions that will then arise about the history of this club and how it falls at the final hurdle?
“You have to embrace that. That will always be there. Nothing will go smoothly.
“Yes, I love this challenge because this is why I do what I do. It’s up to me.”