Spursy no more? Ange Postecoglou delivers, but Tottenham future uncertain despite Europa League triumph over Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur have ended a 17-year wait for major silverware with UEFA Europa League success in Bilbao - but questions remain over the future of Ange Postecoglou. The Australian delivered Spurs’ first European title since 1984 and a much-needed response to a turbulent domestic campaign. However, with chairman Daniel Levy yet to publicly back him, uncertainty lingers heading into the summer.

'We’re still building this team’ – Postecoglou looks to future but says 'decision not in my hands’

Video credit: TNT Sports

"We’re not Spursy anymore."
After years as the punchline, Tottenham Hotspur fans can finally exhale. The clock has reset. Yes, it was the UEFA Europa League - not the UEFA Champions League they flirted with in 2019 - but this final was about one thing: getting it done. And for the first time in 17 years, Spurs did exactly that.
The scenes at San Mames said it all. Spurs fans poured into the Bilbao night, belting out a new anthem and basking in the knowledge that this trophy hasn’t just salvaged their season - it’s prevented Manchester United from rescuing theirs. Gareth Bale quipped on TNT Sports that it’s no longer "Spursy" but "Unitedy". Sir Alex Ferguson’s iconic "lads, it’s Tottenham" team talk? Buried... at least for now.
For this doesn’t fix everything, of course. Tottenham remain 17th in the Premier League with one game left - against Brighton - with 14th the highest they can finish. If PSG or Inter dismantle them in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine this August, the torment may swiftly return. But as foundations go, this wasn’t bad, with Ange Postecoglou suggesting pre-match that a trophy would demolish "50%" of the narrative surrounding the club.
So what next? That’s where it gets messy.
Despite ending Spurs’ 17-year wait for a major trophy - and delivering their first European silverware since 1984 - Postecoglou’s future is up in the air. A dismal domestic campaign fuelled rumours that Daniel Levy might swing the axe regardless of the result in Bilbao. While United fans sang Ruben Amorim’s name all week, despite their own historic slump, Postecoglou did not get the same treatment, with the pre-match focus instead on his searing response to a journalist who suggested he would be a "clown" if Spurs didn't win.
He’s done what serial winners Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte couldn’t. Same for the much-loved Mauricio Pochettino, and Harry Redknapp. All had better squads. None had to ride out an injury crisis quite like this. And yet, asked post-match if he’d be staying, Postecoglou told TNT Sports: "It’s not in my hands… I don’t feel like I’ve completed the job here. We’re still building."
Bale said a decision needs to be made quickly.
"There's been so much talk about whether he goes, or whether he doesn’t. He's won a trophy, he's the first manager to do that in a long time. The board have some decisions to make - back him or don’t - and they've got to do it soon," he said.
"I like the football that he plays. Obviously he lacks a bit of a Plan B, but tonight showed there is a Plan B. If he also matures as a manager, and brings that defensive side to his teams, of course he can still have success here."
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Highlights: Postecoglou delivers as Spurs beat Man Utd to end trophy drought

Video credit: TNT Sports

Is Levy really about to pull the trigger on the man brought in to deliver nights like this? 'Finishing just above the relegation zone' wasn’t in the job spec - but now there are two ways into the Champions League, and Postecoglou chose the back door.
Of course there are caveats - a weak competition, no Champions League teams dropping down, a fortunate goal in the final - but Spurs have had favourable routes before and fallen apart. Taking advantage isn’t Spursy. It’s the opposite.
"Us finishing third wasn’t going to change this football club. The only thing that was going to change this football club was us winning something," Postecoglou said on TNT Sports after making good on his claim of always winning something in his second season.
In his post-match press conference, he hinted that Levy and the club weren’t fully behind his vision.
"It's not a criticism, I understand why it would be difficult for a club like this to buy into one person's vision," he said. "I remember even when I signed, Daniel sort of said 'we went after winners, it didn't work, now we've got Ange'. Mate, I'm a winner. I've been a serial winner my whole career, it's what I've done more than anything else."
The club's last winner - Juande Ramos - was sacked just eight months after lifting the League Cup. Will Levy act even faster this time around? Or will Postecoglou be given the chance to destroy the other 50% of the narrative around Spurs?
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‘I believed it inside me’ – Postecoglou on winning trophies in second season quote

Video credit: TNT Sports


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