Angie Postecoglou (60), the manager, summarized Tottenham Hotspur's current situation in one sentence. In 2019, former manager Mauricio Pochettino mentioned, "Tottenham needs a painful rebuilding to leap to the next stage," and Postecoglou emphasized that he is currently fulfilling that journey.

Football London reported on the 26th (Korean time) Postecoglou's words. He said, "Among the players who started in the away game against Eintracht Frankfurt, only Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, and Rodrigo Bentancur have been with me since I took charge. Given this, I would say it is indeed a rebuilding process. It has been a substantial reconstruction effort."

He noted, "Building the team around young players while facing unprecedented injury setbacks has made this season tough. However, I believe this strategy was correct. The growth of young players will be a factor in brightening Tottenham's future in the coming years."

After finishing 5th last season and narrowly missing out on qualification for the UEFA Champions League, Postecoglou is fighting to win the Europa League this season. External evaluations directed at him have come close to using the term 'failure.' In response, he questioned this perspective.

Postecoglou complained, "Why is everyone excited about being 5th this season, while no one viewed it positively when we were 5th last season? We achieved that outcome under similar difficult circumstances last year, and I can't understand why that was considered a failure."

He added, "At that time, I was playing to win, and some criticized that. Yet this season, it feels like there's a frenzy over the battle for 5th place. It’s just a double standard."

Postecoglou revealed a phrase that he often shares with the Tottenham squad. It was 'Stone cutter’s creed.' He elaborated on it.

"A stone cutter breaks the stone on the 101st strike, but people only see that final blow. No one sees the countless strikes that came before it. Whether all I've attempted until now was part of those 100 strikes or just wasted effort will be known over time."

He continued, "What we need to do now is to keep moving in the right direction to allow that '101st' strike to happen. It may seem like nothing is happening on the surface, but every change accumulates over time."

This season, Tottenham has underperformed in the league. However, they are currently in the semifinals of the Europa League. Postecoglou still described the present as 'transitional.'

He said, "This season has really felt like being chased the whole time. When things seemed to be going well, if we messed up the first 10 minutes, the entire game was thrown off. Some of that was our mistake while some was due to bad luck. But rebuilding is supposed to be like that."

He went on, "Just being in the Europa League semifinals has significance. There are Champions League qualification stakes and the historic goal of a European victory after 41 years is also possible. If we can navigate this period well, I believe we can break the cycle of the last few years."

Recently, Postecoglou sparked controversy with his remark during a press conference after the Frankfurt away game, saying, "Unfortunately, I will be here longer." Some interpreted this as a warning to fans, but he dismissed it.

He stated, "That was absolutely not directed at the fans. It was just a joke. Do reporters really lack a sense of humor? There are people who keep distorting the context of my words. If I had said that to the fans, would it make sense?"

In conclusion, Postecoglou conveyed a strong message, saying, "Tottenham can no longer create change in the same way as before. What I intend to do is a fundamental shift."

He continued, "Of course, not everything has gone well. Some things have failed spectacularly. However, to change this club, I have to go through such trial and error. Right now, that's just part of the process."

He emphasized, "What Tottenham fans want right now is not rumors about the manager's future, but a real opportunity to achieve something. We have that opportunity. My players and I will stay focused until the end to seize it."

[OSEN]