Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has challenged his players not just to win the Europa League to save their season but to “break the cycle of failure” and create memories worthy of being etched in their walls at the club.
“That’s the obstacle this club has to overcome because it will always be there,” the Australian said of next week’s final against Manchester United in Bilbao.
“Until you do that, people are entitled to say, ‘You’re just a team that keeps losing in the big games’ so what you have to do is break that cycle.
“There has to be a bigger goal than silencing people. สนใจสมัคร? คลิกที่นี่เพื่อเริ่มต้น I think it has to be, ‘What impact can you have?’ I always tell the players that at the end of their careers, they should look back at the clubs they played for and be proud that they did something there. “
The pictures I see on the walls are all of Bill Nicholson with the winning team in 1984. Many of them are in black and white. Can we get this team up there?”
Bill Nicholson guided Spurs to the Premier League Double in 1961 and they have not won the league since. While their last European trophy was back in 1984, when Keith Burkinshaw won the UEFA Cup, Spurs
have won just two League Cups in 34 years and haven’t won anything since 2008.
“It’s not because the team isn’t good enough as a player or a good manager,” added Ange.
“I knew that when I took the job. I knew it was going to be a massive challenge but we’ve put ourselves in a position where we have the opportunity and it’s important to take it.”
If they do, Ange will continue his winning run at every club he has managed in his second season.
“For me personally, it’s obviously another trophy to look back on when you’re old. “
But more importantly what it means to the club. I’ve always said the importance of success is how it affects the people around you. “
My past successes have all meant a lot. In Yokohama they hadn’t won it for 14 years, Australia had never won the continental title, Brisbane hadn’t won it, South Melbourne – my first job – hadn’t won it for seven years.
“With Celtic, it was only a year ago but in Scotland it was a long time ago. They had to fight for glory again. So every success means something because you know what it does to the club and in the hearts of the fans.
“When you look back at the history of this club over the last 20 years, I feel like this could be a turning point, both in terms of the image the club presents to the world and, most importantly, the way the club sees itself.
“Until you win trophies, no matter what else you do, people are still going to say, ‘You haven’t won anything’. And in football, and in life in general, that’s how people judge where we are.”