To put things extremely mildly, it has not been the season that anybody had hoped for at Spurs.
Ange’s side currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League, having lost 15 games out of 29 – and were knocked out of both domestic cups in a three-day period last month.
The only hope is the Europa League, the basket where all of their eggs currently lie. However, should they fail to win the competition, the extreme likelihood is finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League and another trophyless season.
With or without the relevant context, that is pretty shambolic.
Levy tells Ange what he must do in the remainder of the season
Although some would argue that Daniel Levy has been more patient with Ange Postecoglou than he has been with previous managers – it has been reported by TBR Football that the Spurs owner has informed the 59-year-old that he must qualify for European football as a minimum expectation for this season.
If the Premier League does get five Champions League places for next season, then the European places will go down to eighth spot.
However, the Tottenham still remain 11 points off of eighth-placed Fulham, who condemned them to their latest defeat on Sunday.
| Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
| 8 |  FulhamFulham |
29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 38 | 5 | 45 |
| 9 |  Aston VillaAston Villa |
29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 45 |
| 10 |  B’mouthBournemouth |
29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 48 | 36 | 12 | 44 |
| 11 |  BrentfordBrentford |
29 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 50 | 45 | 5 | 41 |
| 12 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace |
28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 33 | 3 | 39 |
| 13 |  Man UtdManchester United |
29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 40 | -3 | 37 |
| 14 |  TottenhamTottenham |
29 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 55 | 43 | 12 | 34 |
| 15 |  EvertonEverton |
29 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 32 | 36 | -4 | 34 |
| 16 |  West HamWest Ham |
29 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 49 | -16 | 34 |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves |
29 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 40 | 58 | -18 | 26 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich |
29 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 28 | 62 | -34 | 17 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester |
29 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 65 | -40 | 17 |
So, it really does feel like Europa League or bust for Ange if he wants to be in the job next season. That will be no easy feat either – with sides such as Athletic Bilbao, Lazio and Manchester United still in the competition.
They still have the tough test of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals, with the second leg to take place in Germany.
To make things potentially worse for the Australian, a former fan favourite has once again stated that he would like to one day return to Spurs, having spent five and a half years at the club beforehand.
Mauricio Pochettino reaffirms that he would like Spurs return
Although the final few months were tough, former Spurs and iconic Premier League manager Mauricio Pochettino is still adored by the Tottenham Hotspur faithful.
Every time there is a managerial departure – or a manager under severe scrutiny like Ange – fans call for the Argentine manager to come back to the club.
Outsiders sometimes point to the fact that Pochettino didn’t win anything in his time at the club – but they certainly got closer than they have since, all whilst playing a much more attractive brand of football.
The 52-year-old has been credited with developing the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son – and numerous other players.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports, Pochettino spoke glowingly about the club, and how he still has a good relationship with Daniel Levy, despite being sacked back in the autumn of 2019. “For me, for my coaching staff, for my family – that [Spurs] is always going to be a special club.
“Yes [I still speak to Daniel Levy], I think we’re talking about two different sides – professional and personal. I think the relationship between both [of us] was there, and is [always] going to be there. Now the next thing is to take a professional decision.
“It’s true after nearly six years, after all that time we live together [him and the club] was tough, because too many ups and downs, emotional things that we lived.
But for us, we speak [together] very well. One thing was professional, another personal, and now [since] the day after we left Tottenham, we keep always a very good relationship.”
Then, he was asked if he could ever see himself back at Spurs, to which he responded: “Look, when I left the club, I remember one interview – where I said I would like one day to come back to Tottenham.”
He then paused, thinking of the right wording before saying: “I am in the USA [managing the national team], I am not going to—no, I’m not going to talk about that, but what I said then, even after six years or five years, I still feel in my heart that, yes, I would like one day to come back. We see the timing, like Daniel said.”
You can see from that last paragraph that Pochettino wants to respect his current employees, as well as Ange. Another thing to consider is that the USA are hosting the World Cup next year.
That is quite a big deal, and you would not be sure that he would like to give that up.
Based on these quotes, he gets on very well with Levy – he will be conscious of the fact the door will be open for him in the future.
Therefore, it feels unlikely that he would be willing to give up managing such a big event like a home World Cup – even as someone who isn’t American.
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