Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou responds to Arne Slot’s praise with Monty Python joke on Liverpool manager | football news
Ange Postecoglou channeled the spirit of Monty Python to downplay the talk he is inspiring among fellow Premier League managers with his attacking style, following Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s glowing praise of his methods.
On Friday, Slot said he expected Postecoglou to win a trophy at Tottenham after the two sides drew in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, meaning they will meet three times in the next two months from the clash in Sunday Premier League live. Sky Sports.
Asked for his response to Slot’s comments, Postecoglou jokingly quoted the 1979 Monty Python film Life of Brian to initially brush off his opposite number’s kind words.
He laughed: “I’m not an evangelist. To quote Monty Python, I’m just a naughty boy!
“(Slot’s opinion) is what I like about football. There have to be differences, people who are ready to do things a little bit differently.
“There’s that variety, that opinion and that allows emotion to come into it. I hate to think that people think I’m some kind of showman or something. I want to win.
“That’s still the core of my being, I hate losing, I want to win and I want to succeed.
“I’m really motivated by it every day and I’ve been my whole career, but I think if I can play like that and win, it’s going to make an impact.
“We all want a little bit of a mark and I want it to be mine. We were successful and we won, but maybe in a little different way. I think that sticks in people’s consciousness a little bit longer.
“Will we ever get there? There are people who will say we are a long way off. Who knows, but I am determined to bring success to this football club and do it in a way that I hope will make an impact.”
The movie references kept coming after Postecoglou was compared to Gladiator’s Maximus, to which he replied: “I love the movie. I love Russell Crowe! I haven’t seen the new one yet, but it’s a great story . That’s all I’ll say. I’ve gotten into trouble with Monty Python.”
Slot: Spurs fans tell me they want us to play this way
Postecoglou has faced criticism from some Tottenham fans – some he has admitted have been painful around here – at times for his refusal to change tactics, with the club on a two-game winning streak again before defeat Man Utd on Thursday night.
He has criticized more widely “offensive” criticism of his methods and questioned whether his “silly accent” played a role in some of this.
But ahead of Sunday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he was unapologetic about his style, having defended his philosophy long before Spurs chose him as Antonio Conte’s permanent successor in the summer of 2023.
“When I came in I made it clear and I think the club knew what I was about,” he said. “I wasn’t going in and doing anything I hadn’t done before.
“My impression is that it’s what the club wanted. Of course they want to win things, everybody does. But they wanted to do it in a certain way, and that excited me.
“Whether the fans understand it or appreciate it as a whole I’m not sure, but I have a feeling from the Tottenham fans I’m in contact with, that’s what they want.
“They want to win, but they want the team to play with that kind of intent.
“It’s human nature these days: we get something, we want something more, that doesn’t satisfy us. I just think whatever makes you happy, hold on to it and love it, embrace it.
“It doesn’t have to be more. You appreciate something for what it is, but we all have people like that in our lives. We also have that uncle who says it’s raining outside, even if you just won. The lottery is about your view of the life”.
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