‘Suddenly’: Journalist is now saying something different about Ange Postecoglou’s future at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur have had a terrible season, but they have one last shot at salvaging something from this campaign.

Indeed, Tottenham have set up a date with destiny against Manchester United in Bilbao in the Europa League final.

If Spurs win this game, they will qualify for the Champions League next season and will have ended their lengthy silverware drought.

Jamie O’Hara fancies Spurs to win the Europa League.

It’s previously been said that Ange Postecoglou is likely to be sacked no matter what happens in the Europa League, and Daniel Levy isn’t going to allow the Europa League to influence his decision on the manager.

However, speaking on The Tottenham Way Podcast, Dan Kilpatrick has now shared a differing view on this situation.

Dan Kilpatrick now unsure on Ange Postecoglou’s future

The journalist says he was almost certain Postecoglou was headed for the sack before the Bodo/Glimt game.

However, now the journalist isn’t so sure that Postecoglou will go, claiming that the feeling around the club would be so positive after a Europa League win that it wouldn’t feel right to sack the manager at that point.

“Before the game, I would have said for sure, I think, you know, either way, my feeling is that he’s going to go at the end of the season. And it’s kind of a case of almost like semantics, is he fired having lost the semi-final final, or is it kind of a mutual thing? You know, he walks away having fulfilled his promise to win a trophy in the second season with a kind of thank you and pat on the back from the club,” Kilpatrick said.

“I’m suddenly feeling, you know, not so sure, because it would just be so momentous, you know, in Ange’s words, it would be massive to win this competition, I think. And, you know, there would be an open top bus parade, you know, down the A10 or whatever, you know, down the Tottenham High Road. And the vibes would be so good.

“And, you know, so much about Postecoglou’s tenure has just kind of been based on vibes, I think. And it would, from there, it would just feel, you know, if he wanted to stay, and, you know, he was kind of saying that publicly from a position of strength, it would, you know, it would feel quite jarring. And it would be a big thing for the club to say, ‘actually, we’re going to get rid of the manager who delivered the first European trophy in 41 years and a first trophy in 17 years.’

“So it’s really hard to call. You know, probably my feeling is that if he did kind of walk away on his terms, you know, it was a kind of mutual thing with a big bonus for winning the Europa League and the kind of payoff, you know, forever kind of immortalized as one of Spurs. I mean, let’s face it, one of Spurs’ best managers of the modern era, as he would be if he wins this competition.

“Then I think that, you know, that would be probably the best thing for everyone. Obviously, it depends who succeeds him. But I could see that being a kind of win for all parties, you know, and would then be a very attractive proposition to maybe go out and get another top job somewhere in Europe.

“And Spurs could perhaps move on to a manager who’s just kind of better suited to, you know, managing full competitions and, you know, keeping them punching in the Premier League. So yeah, I think that would be the best case, but I just don’t know now. I feel less certain that it could be his last season.”

Managers who saved their jobs with trophy wins

Ange Postecoglou could save his job if he wins the Europa League, and we’ve seen this situation play out before.

Indeed, just last year, Manchester United kept Erik ten Hag on after he won the FA Cup against the odds, and, ultimately, United made a mistake with that call.

However, that said, three decades prior, a certain manager by the name of Alex Ferguson was in the same boat, and he went on to have unprecedented success with United after saving his job by the skin of his teeth.

Roberto Di Matteo also earned himself a permanent post at Chelsea after the 2012 Champions League win, but his tenure at the Blues was short-lived beyond that.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of examples of managers who were sacked after winning major trophies.

Of course, most of those examples are from clubs that are used to winning silverware each and every year, and Tottenham are a different case in that they haven’t won a trophy in 17 years.

Tottenham would be making quite the statement if they immediately sacked the manager who delivered their first trophy in almost two decades, that’s for sure.

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