<figure id="attachment_3175981" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3175981" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3175981" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/03986ea0-afp__20250913__74dh4tw__v1__midres__fblengprarsenalnottinghamforest_2_cropped_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3175981" class="wp-caption-text">Ange Postecoglou said Spurs’ infrastructure is elite, but their transfer budget and wage framework tell a different story. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
LONDON: Ange Postecoglou insisted Tottenham Hotspur were &#8220;not a big club&#8221; following the sacking of head coach Thomas Frank on Wednesday.
The Dane succeeded Postecoglou in the Spurs hotseat but was unable to oversee a revival in their Premier League form.
After a 2-1 defeat at home to Newcastle on Tuesday the north London club is just five points above the relegation zone.
&#8220;Having been in that position now twice in the last six months, it&#8217;s tough,&#8221; Postecoglou told The Overlap&#8217;s Stick to Football podcast.
&#8220;You know that he can&#8217;t be the only issue at the club. It&#8217;s a curious club, Tottenham. It&#8217;s made a major pivot at the end of last year, not just with me but with (executive chairman) Daniel (Levy) leaving as well, and you&#8217;ve created this whole sort of environment of uncertainty.&#8221;
For all their traditional standing as a &#8216;Big Six&#8217; club who now play in one of the best stadiums in the country, Tottenham have been crowned champions of England just twice – the same number of times as second-tier Portsmouth.
And the last of Spurs&#8217; titles came decades before the Premier League era, when a celebrated side managed by Bill Nicholson lifted both the old First Division trophy and FA Cup to do the &#8216;Double&#8217; back in the 1960/61 season
Long before Postecoglou took charge, high-profile managers including Terry Venables, George Graham, Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte tried and failed to get Spurs back to the summit of English football.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no guarantee whichever manager you bring in – they&#8217;ve had world-class managers there and they haven&#8217;t had success,&#8221; Postecoglou said.
Despite overseeing the end of Spurs&#8217; 17-year wait for a major trophy when they beat Manchester United in the 2005 Europa League final, poor league form meant Postecoglou was still sacked.
The 60-year-old Australian insisted a failure to invest in players lay behind Spurs&#8217; problems.
&#8220;They&#8217;ve built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities, but when you look at their expenditure and particularly their wage structure, they&#8217;re not a big club,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;I saw that because, when we were trying to sign players, we weren&#8217;t in the market for those players.&#8221;
Postecoglou added Spurs were failing to live up to their own ideals.
&#8220;When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is &#8216;To Dare Is To Do&#8217; (the club motto), and yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think they didn&#8217;t realise that, to actually win, you&#8217;ve got to take some risks.
&#8220;I felt like Tottenham as a club were saying, &#8216;we&#8217;re one of the big boys,&#8217; and the reality is I don&#8217;t think they are.&#8221;

MatchPoint Times

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