Two English sides rejected the chance to hire Ange Postecoglou, former Premier League star Michael Bridges has revealed.
Speaking on The Optus Sport Football Podcast, Bridges mentioned that he attempted to get Postecoglou considered for managerial positions at Sunderland and Leeds United.
However, some people at the time were unfamiliar with Postecoglou’s accomplishments and doubted his credentials.
Bridges expressed his disappointment at the missed opportunities and his belief in Postecoglou’s managerial capabilities.
He said:
“I was trying to get Ange to Sunderland Football Club or Leeds United as the manager and it was so interesting to hear how many people say that they’d never heard of the guy because he’d been in Asia doing things or they didn’t think he would have the pedigree to do it.”
“I was so gutted. I was looking for somebody to replace Bielsa at Leeds with a similar style of play, but with a man-management skill that goes with it. He missed out at Sunderland with Coleman, that was close there.”
“I was just delighted when he got the Celtic job. Now I got loads of mates saying, ‘Oh God, who’s this guy? What’s he gonna do?’ And I remember texting my mates saying, ‘You guys will win everything under this man. He will have your club up and running once again.’ And I was absolutely delighted to see him do so well.”
TBH Says:
Tottenham have ended up taking a chance on the Ange after his impressive spell at Celtic and looks like we have hit the jackpot.
From the very first day of his arrival, he has managed to lift the mood around the club. He has instantly connected with the players and the fans.
He has the aura and passion that has infected the club. One may suggest that in terms of personality and instant connection with the club, he may have made the same impact as Jurgen Klopp did with Liverpool when he first joined Liverpool.
Tottenham are currently in a transition period and we have already seen a big difference in the way we are now playing compared to previous years.
Will he be able to finally end our trophy drought remains to be seen but he will need to be backed by the club in terms of financial resources as well as time.
