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Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has taken a dig at the English Premier League and those within its circles, explaining how the division lives in its own pretentious world.

The Aussie boss departed Glasgow over a year ago for North London, taking on the Tottenham Hotspur job.

So far down south, Postecoglou hasn’t particularly set the heather alight. He led Spurs to a fifth-place finish in the league during his first season in charge, narrowly missing out on a Champions League place.

Not long into his second campaign at the helm, though, there are signs of progress, with his side competing on both domestic and European fronts.

As Spurs fight a gruelling schedule and Postecoglou proceeds with his traditional play style regardless of the result, he faces scrutiny from pundits and fans alike, who tell him to be more pragmatic.

The 59-year-old resultantly took a sly dig at the critics within English football.

“There’s a little bit of pretentiousness and arrogance about people in the premier league thinking they’re in a special place,” said Postecoglou (Optus Sport).

“But it’s still football.

“The scrutiny is not a challenge for me.”

Postecoglou’s unique methods worked wonders at Celtic. During his two highly successful campaigns in charge of the club, he won five trophies, including a domestic treble.

The Spurs boss, though, outlined the unique challenge of managing the Bhoys, explaining that, in comparison to Spurs, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

“The club (Spurs) has its own unique challenges, for sure.

“Are they more difficult than others? I don’t know. When I was at Celtic, people said ‘Well, yeah, but Celtic are expected to win’. I go, ‘Yeah, that’s right, you’re expected to win’.

“You lose one game and it’s a big problem for you. Not many can cope with that.

“So it’s just a different challenge [at Spurs] for sure.”

The standards at Celtic are undoubtedly much higher than that of Spurs’.

It says a lot that some of the club’s supporters were happy to lose a game against Manchester City so that it would prevent their North London rivals, Arsenal, from winning the league.

Postecoglou has already learned a lot during his time south of the border. As the season progresses, so too will the pressure for him to win something.

Former Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart was unsurprised by his old boss Ange Postecoglou’s demeanour following Tottenham’s collapse against Brighton in the English Premier League on Sunday.

Spurs led the game at half-time by two goals to nil, thanks to strikes from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.

Hosts Brighton came out a different animal in the second 45, though, as Postecoglou’s men lost their way and fell to a harrowing 3-2 defeat.

The Aussie manager looked shot on his feet at full-time. He seemed gut-wrenched in his several post-match interviews.

Ex-Celt Hart wasn’t surprised by his mood.

“I am really not [surprised]; he [Postecoglou] really puts emphasis on morals, on being a constant good person, striving to get the best,” quipped the now-retired ‘keeper (Match of the Day via RecordSport).

“It almost felt like Tottenham had cracked it, they were excellent in the first half, off the back of some great results. They had the better of Brighton, they wanted to ease into the second half, Brighton weren’t going to let that happen again.”

Tottenham were gaining some momentum before Sunday’s match.

An emphatic 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford was arguably their best performance of the Postecoglou era. They then beat Ferencvaros 2-1 last Thursday in Europe, extending their winning run to five games.

Sunday came as an almighty blow, though, especially heading into the international break.

Postecoglou has consistently communicated that he will deliver success to Spurs, but so far, he has yet to bring the club to the heights he reached with Celtic.

Five trophies – a domestic double followed by a treble – across two years in Glasgow after joining the Hoops off the back of their worst season in modern history has to be commended.

He left in a respectable manner, but things haven’t quite gone to plan for the 59-year-old in North London.

Despite bringing equal levels of success to the club, Celtic’s last two managers, Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou, are notably different in many aspects.

The current Parkhead boss maintains a tight-knit relationship with his players, while his predecessor tends to take a step back.

Similarly, Rodgers seems to love talking to the media and cleverly deals with them. While Postecoglou equally knows how to handle himself in interviews and the like, he isn’t fond of being in front of the press.

Current Spurs star James Maddison has recently touched on the differences between the two bosses.

The attack-minded midfielder played under Rodgers at Leicester before moving to North London, where Postecoglou now manages him.

Maddison is in a perfect position to judge each gaffers’ way of working, and admitted both deal with players in contrasting ways.

“He’s (Postecoglou) a good man but he’s also someone who will not let the manager and player relationship get too tight,” he said (Golf Life via Football Scotland).

“For example like Brendan Rogers who I had for five years at Leicester, he was very arm around you and made you feel so good. Like you could go in his office for a coffee and talk.

“They’re both great men but just different.”

Certain managers’ styles benefit some players more than others, and that was no more evident than in Matt O’Riley’s form for Celtic last season.

The Dane showed signs of promise under Postecoglou but seemed to truly kick on under Rodgers, eventually departing Glasgow in a £30m move to Brighton this summer.

Both bosses can take credit for O’Riley’s success, but as Maddison admitted, their managerial styles are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is set to return to Glasgow this season.

The draw for the initial league phase of the UEFA Europa League was made this afternoon, with the Aussie’s Tottenham Hotspur side in the hat.

They were in pot one alongside Rangers and inevitably, have been drawn to face the Glasgow side at Ibrox.

Postecoglou will relish the opportunity to return to Scotland and get one over on his old rivals.

Indeed, the last time Postecoglou managed against them, he lost 3-0. The 59-year-old will look to put that straight as he brings his star-studded Spurs side north of the border.

It will be an intriguing night in Govan, to say the least, but the visitors will go into the tie undoubted favourites.

Along with Rangers, they will also face Roma, AZ Alkmaar, Ferencvaros, Qarabag, Galatasaray, Elfsborg, and Hoffenheim as they look to make it to the knockout stages of Europe’s second-tier competition.

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou returned to Scotland on Wednesday night with Tottenham Hotspur for pre-season.

The English Premier League side travelled to Tynecastle to take on Hearts in a friendly which was a foregone conclusion. The visitors ran out emphatic 5-1 victors, with ‘Angeball’ in full flow.

Postecoglou has fond memories of visiting Gorgie from his time at Celtic. He masterminded a hard-fought 4-3 victory there amid VAR controversy back in 2022 before returning to win the title some months later.

Post-match on Wednesday, the Aussie recalled his time in Glasgow.

“It’s such an unbelievable club, Celtic”, he said (PLZ Soccer).

“The support I had from day one was unbelievable. I enjoyed my whole time up here, my family did, I did, it was a great two years and we’ll always look back on it with great fondness.”

After a tumultuous first season with Spurs in which they narrowly missed out on a Champions League berth, Postecoglou will be aiming for bigger things in the forthcoming campaign.

Celtic fans know first-hand that the boss’ second season at a club is where things really get rocking, and that is what they will be looking forward to in North London over the next year.

Ange Postecoglou is a year removed from Glasgow and Scottish football, but the former Celtic manager is set to appoint a former SPFL manager as his right-hand man in London.

Nick Montgomery, who recently departed Hibernian, is set to join Postecoglou’s backroom staff at Spurs. [Ftbl.com] Montgomery’s tenure at Hibs was cut short last month after the club failed to secure a top-six finish in the Scottish Premiership, winning only 12 of their 37 matches.

Montgomery, 42, boasts a notable playing career with 398 appearances for Sheffield United from 2000 to 2012. He transitioned into management, achieving significant success with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners by leading them to an A-League title in 2023. He was found wanting at Hibernian where he could never get things right or to a place where the Edinburgh club was consistent. Ange handing him a major role in his setup is akin to falling into the Clyde and coming out with a couple of salmon in your pocket – to coin a very old phrase.

Spurs’ coaching setup has seen some changes this summer, particularly with the departure of senior assistant coach and former Celtic assistant Chris Davies, who recently took over as Birmingham City’s manager. Joining him is Sergio Raimundo, his assistant coach from both Central Coast Mariners and Hibs, ensuring a seamless integration into Postecoglou’s team.

Ange Postecoglou’s move to Tottenham last summer marked a significant chapter after his remarkable achievements at Celtic. In Glasgow, Postecoglou revitalised the Hoops, leading them to two Scottish Premiership titles, a Scottish Cup, and two Scottish League Cups. His dynamic and attacking style of play, coupled with his ability to inspire the squad, earned him widespread acclaim.

Postecoglou’s knack for working with new coaching talents is well-documented. Although he attempted to bring his trusted aide, Celtic coach John Kennedy, to Spurs last summer, the move did not materialise.

It’ll be interesting to see how Spurs do in their second season with Ange. There was so much promise during the first part of last season but Spurs lost their way as they have done with a lot of top managers.

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