Former Australia international Jackson Irvine explains ‘extra challenge’ Ange Postecoglou overcame at Tottenham Hotspur
Australia international Jackson Irvine spent time with Tottenham Hotspur’s current manager Ange Postecoglou between 2013 and 2017, when the latter was Australia’s head coach.
The player has played for clubs like Celtic and Hull City in his professional career and is currently captaining 2. Bundesliga team St. Pauli at the age of 30. He was recently speaking about Postecoglou’s impact at Spurs.
Irvine believes that Postecoglou had an extra challenge at Spurs after Harry Kane made his high-profile switch to Bayern Munich. The England international’s future was the centre of speculation in recent years.
It seemed imminent that he would leave. Kane ultimately moved to Bayern in the middle of August. The 30-year-old was our club’s all-time top-scorer with 278 goals in 430 games.
Is he right?
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Irvine said:
“The way he’s galvanised a club after a period of such negativity and losing its greatest-ever player, it’s a great achievement. It was an extra challenge.”
Irvine is spot on. Spurs fans, of course, would have continued to offer their unwavering support to the team regardless of Kane’s future. But some genuinely would have believed the club would crumble after Kane’s existence.
Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero, and Dejan Kulusevski were some of the stars we had alongside him. But he was always the main course; the chief creator and the main man in the final third when it came to scoring important goals.
The brilliant thing is that Ange didn’t even sign a new No. 9 to fill that void. Instead, the signing of James Maddison and Son’s return to form has done wonders for us.
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The team doesn’t seem to be centred around one man anymore. There is a brilliant team spirit at the club which has been missing since the Mauricio Pochettino days. It is no surprise hearing Ange’s former players speak so highly of him. He just seems to be the perfect fit for the club on and off the pitch.
