Ange Postecoglou determined to silence critics with second season silverware at Tottenham in UEFA Europa League final against Manchester United
Updated 21/05/2025 at 18:48 GMT+1
Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United in Bilbao in the final of the UEFA Europa League - live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has often stated that he always wins silverware in his second season with a club, and he has the opportunity to make that happen and answer some of his critics after a difficult domestic season which has them 17th in the Premier League table.
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou says a lack of external support has made his squad even more determined to end the season on a high and lift the UEFA Europa League trophy.
They take on Manchester United in the final of the competition on Wednesday, May 21, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
An unsatisfactory season in the Premier League sees them one place above the relegation zone with one match to play, but they have managed to flourish in Europe.
Earlier in the campaign, Postecoglou insisted "I always win things in my second year" - a claim which has been repeated back to him throughout a below-par second season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Now, with the possibility of that statement coming to fruition in a major way, Postecoglou told TNT Sports that it has served as extra motivation.
He said: "I didn't realise at the time, but it's a decent grab for people to kind of clutch onto, and as much as people try and make it a sort of irritant for me, I think the fact that they're still talking about it means that there's still a chance for it.
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"The longer they're talking about it, it means the more I've got an opportunity to do that.
"We haven't had a lot of allies externally, so you kind of need to band together, particularly with the issues we've had this year.
"We had a lot of players, key players, missing for large chunks and others have had to step into the breach and it's taken a collective effort and I think that's brought the lads closer together.
"I think there's an appreciation from every player who contributed through this and, as I said, when you're dealing with adversity as we have this year, it tends to bring the group really close together and I think that's going to be important tomorrow.
"When I came to the club, the number one priority, particularly for the fans, was to win a trophy and that's what we're going to try and deliver tomorrow."
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Postecoglou has no pre-meditated motivational speech prepared for his pre-match team talk in Bilbao, as he wants to let the occasion run its course naturally.
"I always feel that it's about reading the room, what the lads need. For me, that's the most important thing," he continued.
"Tomorrow is really about the players and how I can best prepare them and get them in the right frame of mind, physically, mentally, emotionally to perform at their best."
'Enormous' for 'legend' Son to lift trophy
Postecoglou made Son Heung-min the club’s captain when he arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Ange Postecoglou and Son Heung-min
Image credit: Getty Images
The South Korea international is now just one win away from becoming the first Spurs skipper to lift a major trophy in 17 years.
"He's been an outstanding servant of this football club," Postecoglou said of Son.
"He'll go down as definitely a legend of this football club with what he's contributed, but to see him lift a trophy would be, just for him personally, I think would be a testament to everything he's done in his career to get to this point, because his journey hasn't been a conventional or easy one.
"The excellence he’s maintained to be at this level for so long, it would be enormous for him, and I think it would be enormous for the football club if he were to lift the trophy."
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