Ange Postecoglou has not been in English football for long, but he’s already developed a reputation as a bit of a joker.
From taking the mick out of Gary Neville for his stint as Valencia manager, to calling out a journalist for asking him if he’d ever heard of Robbie Williams, the Australian has no shortage of funny moments with the press.
He came up with another one on Friday, when asked about Spurs’ Champions League qualification hopes.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
Ahead of Sunday’s match against Aston Villa, the Tottenham manager was quizzed about whether he thinks about fifth place potentially being good enough for Champions League qualification.
His response was equal parts bullish and funny, telling the room with a slight smirk: “Mate, it’s not a Willy Wonka golden ticket, you know?”
“Look, I’ll shoot for eighth and see how we go, then I’ll feel really happy about myself!”
To be fair to the Spurs manager, he was making a good point about not aiming for anything other than the best.
The Australian said: “OK, so there are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last year, had a good season. Does that guarantee anything the following season? No.”
“I’ve said all along, I’m in no desperation to get something just for comfort or insurance. I’m here to create a team that wins things. For me, it defies logic – I’m just not built that way – to aim for anything other than the top.”
“Logically as you say, if we’ve improved and make Champions League, it means we’ve had a decent year. But that isn’t going to give me any comfort if we’re not playing the football that I want to play and we haven’t improved in the off-season to make sure we’re ready for the next step.”
How did fans react?
Unsurprisingly, fans on social media were quick to react to the manager’s comments.
X user @KidiabaPonyTail simply asked “Wilder or Chalamet?” in reference to Gene Wilder and Timothée Chalamet, two of the actors who have played Willy Wonka in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movies.
@MixedRaceSpur turned the ire onto the Spurs ownership, commenting “Willy Plonkers at board level.”
And he was not alone in his anger, with TottenhamAwayTV posting this monstrosity!
— Tottenham Away 🟣🟡 (@TottenhamAwayTV) March 8, 2024