Daily Record

Rangers legend Graeme Souness has branded ex Celtic boss Ange Postecolgou “lucky and naive” and claimed it was “MADNESS” not to take any of his own coaching staff to Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou is reeling after blowing a two-goal lead against Brighton & Hove Albion as they lost to the Seagulls which has left the north London outfit sitting in ninth position. Souness rejected the notion that the 59-year-old is a “brave” manager for his all-out attacking style, pointing to the frenzied fixture against Chelsea last season when he continued to chase the game despite going down to NINE men.

Spurs were leading in that match but lost 4-1 and Souness told William Hill’s new podcast, Three Up Front: “When I think of Ange Postecoglou, I go back to that game against Chelsea where they got two players sent off and he still had them playing right up to the halfway line.

“The only time you can do that is when you’ve got 11 players on the pitch and the ball is constantly under pressure. The minute someone can get their head up, you’re in trouble. They could have conceded four or five more goals that game – I thought that was naïve. It’s naïve to talk like that and say that the more open the game is, the better it is. If they’d lost that game seven or eight goals to two, you’ve lost the players as a manager. He wasn’t brave that day, they got lucky.”

Postecoglou failed in a bid to lure John Kennedy from Parkhead to Tottenham when he left the Hoops and Souness continued: “He’s walked into Tottenham without bringing any of his own staff, is he so naïve as to think he can trust any of the coaching staff he’s inherited not to go to the chairman with their tittle-tattle? I would not take a job and think I can just walk into it – it’s madness – you need to go in with people you trust because being a manager is lonely.”

Souness also said Postecoglou should have hammered home the importance of a third goal against Brighton on Sunday. He said: “The Tottenham players should have known better.

"You learn it at school – when you’re 2-0 up the next goal is vital. If you concede, the momentum is suddenly with the opposition but if you go to 3-0 up, the game is over.

“I don’t know if Spurs have any leaders. When they go into the dressing room at half-time, the chat should be, ‘we can’t concede the next goal, this game is far from over’ – that’s what Ange Postecoglou should be telling them. He needed to remind them that if they were to concede, everyone’s going to be all over you.

“The issues at Spurs boil down to the manager and the coaching staff. The only message they needed to give the players in that game when the half-time whistle blew was to play more of the same. Spurs just ended up capitulating which is why Postecoglou was so deflated after the game, he thought he had some warriors in that team and was proven otherwise.”

Unsurprised Joe Hart insists battered and bruised Ange Postecoglou's chastening reaction to Tottenham's collapse against Brighton is no shock to him.

The former Celtic boss was left bereft as he watched Spurs collapse in epic fashion from 2-0 up as Brighton scored three times in the second half to condemn his side to defeat. Postecoglou gave body language experts a field day as he showed off a thousand yard stare on the pitch at full time, as he loosened his tie. The visibly shaken 59-year-old did little to hide his disgust surrounding his side's meek resistance in following interviews, as he labelled Spurs' capitulation as the "worst defeat" of his tenure.

And Hart - a vocal worshipper about the power of Postecoglou – was unmoved by his former manager's hurt and explained exactly why he was left so angry. Speaking on Match of the Day 2, he said: "I am really not (surprised), he really puts emphasis on morals, on being a constant good person, striving to get the best. 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."

Meanwhile, Alan Pardew, believes the domineering style which was a smash-hit in Glasgow is an ill-fit to what is needed to truly thrive in the Premier League. Speaking to talkSPORT, Pardew said: "When you’re in a dominant side like he was at Celtic, let’s be honest, in a way you can have a bit more of a carefree attitude and get results. You can’t do that in the Premier League. The top teams can’t do that.

"Man City showed that yesterday because Fulham should have turned them over. They were a little bit lax and Fulham definitely should have done the job on them."

Tottenham Hotspur has initiated a probe into allegations of homophobic chanting by some of their fans during the victory against Manchester United. The chants are thought to have crudely suggested: "Dom Solanke is f****** class, Mik Arteta takes it up the a***, 60 million down the drain, Dom Solanke scores again."

Spurs' win was headlined by Dom Solanke's goal in their commanding 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford. Brennan Johnson notched the opener extremely early into the match, and later on, United captain Bruno Fernandes received a red card just before the break. Dejan Kulusevski increased Tottenham's lead, with Solanke then sealing the deal.

However, the homophobic chants dampened the celebrations, evoking an angry response from the club, reports the Mirror.

A statement from Tottenham said: "The Club is aware of abhorrent homophobic chanting from sections of our away support at Old Trafford today. This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team.

"The Club will be working closely with the Police and stewards to identify anyone instigating or joining in with the chanting - we shall take the strongest possible action in accordance with our Sanctions and Banning Policy. Supporters in attendance today can report anything they've seen or heard in confidence to supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com.

"We shall be continuing our work with our LGBTQ+ supporters' association, Proud Lilywhites, to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans on matchdays.

"We are justly proud of our superb and loyal support, home and away. However, we all have a responsibility to act as ambassadors of Tottenham Hotspur and discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club."

The Proud Lilywhites welcomed the investigation and the club's strongly-worded statement, reminding fellow fans of the impact of homophobic chanting: "Loved what happened on the pitch at Old Trafford; didn't love the homophobic chanting off the pitch. Dom deserves better and as for the other one.."

"We're all Spurs fans just like you. When you sing these songs you're telling us we don't belong; and we do-as much as you do."

Micky van de Ven produced a moment of magic for Ange Postecoglou as Gary Neville hailed it 'one of the best he's seen'.

The Tottenham defender broke up a Manchester United attack in his own half before showing his lightning fast turn of pace to burst through and beyond a host of Erik ten Hag's men before firing a brilliant ball across goal from Brennan Johnson to easily tap home and continue his rich vein of form in front of goal. It was a piece of magic both lauded by the Sky Sports commentary team and fans on social media as Spurs grabbed the advantage at Old Trafford with just minutes on the clock.

Gary Neville said: "Absolutely brilliant. One of the best runs I've ever seen from a centre-back." He was joined by a host of supporters online in praising the stopper with one writing: "Micky the boss with an unbelievable assist." Another posted: "When Micky runs like that, it’s not just outrageous—it’s a full-on spectacle." One further fan added: "Doesn't get much better than that!".

Rangers boss Philippe Clement and the Ibrox faithful will have one eye on the English Premier League clash with the Light Blues set to face both clubs in the Europa League. They welcome former Celtic boss Ange and his Tottenham side to Ibrox in December before they make the trip to Manchester United late January 2025.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou is odds-on to be sacked before Christmas - with his Celtic successor Brendan Rodgers favourite to replace him in north London!

The Aussie is coming under increasing pressure at Spurs after a shaky start to the season which included defeat to Arsenal in last week’s derby and they scraped through in the EFL Cup with a late show against Championship outfit Coventry City. Postecoglou moved to the English Premier League outfit from Parkhead at the start of last season with Rodgers returning to the east end of Glasgow for a second stint at the Hoops in a controversial move.

Rodgers won the double and has made a flying start to his second season and is tipped for a third stint in the English Premier League having previously managed Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester City.

Postecoglou is due to return to Glasgow in December to face Rangers in the Europa League but the bookies reckon he might not even be at the club at that time. The sportscasting.com/uk traders are making him 8/11 to be gone by Christmas and even shorter (2/5) to not last the season.

The oddsmakers are also pricing up Rodgers as the favourite to take over at 5/1 - a man that’s been rumoured for the Spurs top job many times before - with former England man Gareth Southgate not ruled out either at just 7/1. Spokesman Andy Newton said: “The new Premier League season is only a handful of games in but already there is mounting pressure on Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou after a very average start.

“Postecoglou had promised big things over his second season at the North London club, but he’s already on the back foot with just one league win so far and with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy no stranger to culling his managers, I’m not surprised to see Ange odds-on to be gone by Christmas. If so, there has been a lot of talk about Brendan Rodgers joining Spurs in the past and they could finally get their man - if, of course, the compensation to Celtic is enough to let their highest ever paid manager leave the Scottish giants.”

ANGE POSTECOGLOU ODDS SPECIALS

To be sacked or quit before Xmas :

Yes 8/11

No 11/10

To be sacked or quit before the end of the season:

Yes 2/5

No 2/1

Ange Postecoglou Next Job

Leicester 4/1

Southampton 9/2

Everton 5/1

Wolves 7/1

Man Utd 8/1

Crystal Palace 9/1

Next Spurs Manager

Brendan Rodgers 5/1

Thomas Tuchel 11/2

Gareth Southgate 7/1

Graham Potter 7/1

Maurizio Sarri 8/1

Xavi 9/1

A video showing panic-stricken Tottenham fans turning their back before Arsenal's winner has been seized upon and used to slap down Ange Postecoglou's controversial post-match narrative.

The under-fire Spurs boss – now winless in seven London derbies – was visibly miffed by questions surrounding his side's power-puff defending which their biggest rivals took full advantage of for Gabriel's booming header from a set piece. Postecoglou claims it would be folly to only look at set plays – with jangly Guglielmo Vicario causing fear in the Spurs goal – as the reason why they failed to lay a glove on Mikel Arteta's side. But if he's not sweating it, then it's a different story in the stands.

And now a video nasty has been unearthed by the Gooners, which shows worried Spurs fans looking away before the corner which provided the winner, a scene more traditionally associated with managers when their side are facing a penalty, not a cross into the box. Postecoglou wasn't without his problems to seek in the post-match debrief as onlookers collectively wondered what had happened to the swashbuckling nature of Angeball.

Jamie O'Hara let rip over the signing policy which has included arrivals from Bournemouth, Leeds United and Burnley. But an ashen-faced Postecoglou is adamant set-pieces – led by former boss Nick Montgomery – is high on his agenda. He said: "I know, I know, for some reason people think I don't care about set pieces and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that. Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team. You know that they're a threat, as I said, for the most part, we handled (Arsenal) really well today, but we switched off for one and we paid a price and you learn from that and you move on.

"But it is what it is, you know, it's my burden to carry, mate, and I'm happy to do that. It's not like, like I've always said, for me, there's a bigger picture that's at play here that's much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to. For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we're playing now into something meaningful."

A report in the Netherlands claims the candidates who could sign Sam Lammers are shrinking with Twente unable to afford the Rangers outcast.

The 27-year-old – who turned heads with 10 goals on loan at Utrecht in the second half of last season – is seeking a permanent exit from Ibrox as he trains and plays with the B team until his future is sorted. The forward has been an ill-fit in Glasgow and now a report in his homeland states his current wage isn't one which the side who finished third can pay. Utrecht appears an option, however, AZ are out after they signed Troy Parrott.

Dutch insider Leon ten Voorde weighed in on the state of play surrounding Lammers and claims the striker isn't even willing to discuss a move to Enschede. He said: "Lammers is training with the second team of Rangers, but he earns such a salary that he doesn't even come to talk in Enschede. And then you're not talking about half as much. He has to give up a lot more. FC Twente has a higher budget than FC Utrecht, but can't yet keep up with the salaries of FC Utrecht. NEC is also a difficult story every now and then and AZ is also still a step higher.

"Of course, they are working on making FC Twente able to participate in the future and at least be able to pay the same as FC Utrecht. But at the moment that is not yet the case. Lammers played for FC Utrecht for the past six months, and he did not do that for nothing."

Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe has left Tottenham after coaching the club's U18s. The former Rangers striker is on the move but he paid tribute to the club he played for during two spells in his goal-laden career before returning to a coaching capacity. Posting on social media, the 41-year-old wrote: "For the past two seasons I have thoroughly enjoyed my coaching time at THFC. Today I leave this incredible club, and I want to say thank you to all the amazing people in the building who have helped me learn and grow.

"Special thanks go to Donna Cullen who brought me back to the club, and in particular, Paul Bracewell, Stuart Lewis, Nigel Gibbs, Wayne Burnett and Bradley Allen, who have all been paramount in helping me evolve into the coach I am today. It has been a pleasure to achieve so much at Spurs including reaching UEFA A coaching status which was always an ambition of mine following my playing career. Spurs will always hold a special place in my heart and the fans already know how much the club means to me. much the club me

"However, now is the right time for me to move on and shape the rest of my coaching and managerial career, nevertheless I will forever remember my time at Spurs fondly. All great journeys eventually come to an end and I wish everyone at the club nothing but the best for the coming season and the future. "Until next time"

Tottenham Hotspur’s new £40million wonderkid Archie Gray has revealed how Ange Postecoglou was the crucial factor in his switch to north London - because he’s Celtic-daft.

The teenager was unveiled by his new club after making the switch from Leeds United and in his first interview spoke of his love for the Hoops and his new boss who spent two outstanding seasons at Parkhead, winning five trophies out of a possible six, before making the switch to the English Premier League.

Gray said: “I’m not going to lie to you, I’m a massive Celtic fan. I love him, my whole family is to be fair, my whole family loves him. I haven’t said this to be fair. He’s also a massive factor to me joining.” The 18-year-old comes from a family of Scottish football royalty. His grandfather Frank and great uncle Eddie are Scotland Elland Road legends and dad Andy also played for Leeds. He followed in their footsteps at the Yorkshire giants but after missing out on promotion last season, Spurs met a clause in his contract to swoop.

Gray initially looked set for a move to Aston Villa before Brentford jumped to the head of the queue when he completed a medical, however, Leeds pulled the plug on a deal with the Bees over payment structure and Spurs swooped.

Leeds confirmed the move in a statement: “Leeds United can confirm Archie Gray has completed a permanent transfer to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee, after the North London outfit met a release clause that was triggered by the club’s failure to get promoted at the first attempt.

“Gray progressed through the ranks of the Academy at Thorp Arch and became involved with the first team setup at the age of just 15, when he was named on the bench for the Whites against Arsenal in the top-flight in 2021. He subsequently went on to make his senior debut in last season’s Sky Bet Championship opener against Cardiff City at Elland Road, aged 17.

“Going on to become a mainstay and thriving in the side under head coach Daniel Farke at right-back, he played a key role in helping the Whites reach the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final. Throughout his time at the club, Gray also featured on the international stage, earning 24 caps for England at youth level, from Under-15s to Under 21s. He now departs having made a total of 52 first team appearances for the Whites in all competitions.”

It was the move from one job to another that brought to life all those expressions you’ve heard before on the subject of luck.

Like the one about falling in the river and coming out with a salmon in your mouth. Or the other one about falling out of a window and going upwards. Nick Montgomery, a managerial appointment made by Hibs who was so unsuccessful he was binned after eight unfulfilling months in charge, has joined Ange Postecoglou’s backroom team at Spurs.

The English Premier League. The supposed best league in the world. The Promised Land. Like swapping a Mondeo for a Mercedes. Neil Warnock will be wondering why he was overlooked after all he did for Aberdeen, which was about as much as Nick did for the cabbage and ribs. If this is the kind of luck Montgomery carries with him, I would expect Spurs to be in the Champions League at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, I like bit of optimism over a manager hired in response to repeated pessimism regarding his predecessors. The vote of confidence given to the new Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin by Pittodrie’s chief executive Alan Burrows was above and beyond the call of duty.

“I’d rather have a good manager for a short period than a poor one for a long time” was Burrows’ welcoming statement. After four quickfire failures in a row in the manager’s office, the Swede now has to live up to his star billing. The Chief Exec has portrayed him as being someone good enough to attract offers to go elsewhere in jig time, presumably as a result of having lit a fire under the previously faltering Dons. No pressure then..

The 18-year-old is still to agree a new deal at Celtic Park - and that is attracting plenty of interest from elsewhere