Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham are NOT a big club

Ange Postecoglou has claimed that Tottenham are not a big club, citing Spurs’ inability to land his key transfer targets as evidence of their struggles.

Postecoglou departed the Premier League side last summer after leading them to the Europa League, subsequently moving to Nottingham Forest, where he had a short spell.

He was given two years at Tottenham, though, and he feels that their status as one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ is overblown.

What did Ange say about Spurs?

Speaking on the Overlap, Postecoglou said: “You know, when you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is ‘To dare is to do’. It’s everywhere. And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that. It’s really curious in terms of understanding what they’re trying to build. What are they?

“There’s obviously been huge investment – they’ve built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities. But when you look at the expenditure, particularly the wage structure, they’re not a big club. I saw that first-hand because when we were trying to sign players, we weren’t in the market for those players.

“They’re not a big club in terms of the wages they pay. The transfer fees might not be the biggest in the league, but they’re always there or thereabouts. However, there’s a cap on wages that won’t be broken.”

Postecoglou frustrated by lack of ambition

Postecoglou claims he was not given the required backing from the board to sign players like Pedro Neto, Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo or Marc Guehi.

He continued: “At the end of my first year, when we finished fifth, for me it was: OK, how do you go from fifth to really challenging? Well, we had to sign Premier League-ready players.

“But finishing fifth that year didn’t get us into the Champions League, so we didn’t have the money. We ended up signing Dom Solanke, who I was absolutely keen on – I really like him – and three teenagers.

“At the time, I was looking at Pedro Neto, Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo, Marc Guehi as well, because I said if we’re going to go from fifth to there, that’s what the other big clubs would do in that moment.”

Spurs have tumbled down the standings over the last two years, with the threat of a relegation battle under Thomas Frank prompting them to sack the Dane earlier this week, leaving them facing a period of uncertainty.

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