Ange Postecoglou heading for Tottenham exit but could walk away a vindicated man | OneFootball

Postecoglou could leave with his doubters in the mud and his reputation enhanced if Spurs win the Europa League

Postecoglou looks increasingly likely to leave Spurs this summer, even if they win the Europa League

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Yet, on Monday night Nuno completed the double over his former club as Forest moved back into the top three, well-placed for a remarkable return to the Champions League for the first time since the Brian Clough era.

The Portuguese's counter-punching style and low-key oratory are better-suited to Forest than a so-called 'big six' club, but Nuno stands as a reminder that a succession of managers have been successful before and after their time in north London - but not at Spurs.

Postecoglou’s Spurs are 16th in the Premier League but have reached the Europa League semi-finals

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Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, both labelled dinosaurs during miserable spells at the club, are other recent examples.

So, as Postecoglou faces up to a likely parting of the ways in the summer, with the Australian increasingly likely to leave at the end of the season regardless of whether Spurs win the Europa League, he can take comfort that the problem may not lie with him.

The optics of Daniel Levy sacking a manager who had delivered the club's first trophy in 17 years would be enormously iffy, but then the chairman sacked Martin Jol - with news filtering out during a Uefa Cup match - dismissed Mauricio Pochettino in the midst of a fly-on-the-wall documentary and gave Mourinho the boot five days before a cup final.

It is easy to understand why Levy may not be sheepish about canning Postecoglou following 18 defeats in 33 league games, repeated clashes with supporters and some pointed recent remarks about the lack of communication from boardroom level.

If Postecoglou is to depart in the summer, his legacy is still to be determined; he could go down as the worst-ever Spurs coach in the Premier League era (they need eight points from their remaining five games to surpass their record-low of 44 in 1997-98), yet could still finish the season as one of their best-ever managers by winning the Europa League.

In fulfilling his promise of always winning something in his second season, Postecoglou would write his name into Spurs' history and walk off into the sunset as a vindicated man, his doubters in the mud and his reputation enhanced by doing what Pochettino, Mourinho, Conte et al could not.

Levy will make the final call on Postecoglou’s future

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As Postecoglou has pointed out recently, he had three challenges on joining the club: to change the style of play, lower the age-profile of the squad and bring success.

By triumphing in Bilbao on May 21, Postecoglou would, beyond doubt, have achieved all three and, depending on what comes next for Spurs, he might be remembered as the coach who both ended their long trophy drought and laid the foundations for a promising new era.

As it stands, it is difficult to place Postecoglou in the managerial marketplace; if he left Spurs today, for example, would he ever get another chance in the Premier League? But as a European trophy winner, he would be a much more attractive proposition to a host of ambitious clubs.

All this talk, of course, is enormously tempting to fate, because first Spurs must navigate a tricky Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and then do what they not done in the last four attempts: win a final, where Manchester United or Athletic Club de Bilbao potentially lie in wait.

Postecoglou's strange situation has drawn comparisons with Erik ten Hag, who was effectively given a stay of execution at Manchester United after unexpectedly winning last season's FA Cup.

Perhaps a better, albeit more dated, parallel for Postecoglou, though, is Keith Burkinshaw, who led Spurs to the 1984 UEFA Cup in his final game in charge, before stepping down due to a disagreement with the board.

Today, Burkinshaw is a Spurs hall-of-famer, celebrated as one of the most important figures in the club's history. Strange as it may seem amid such a wretched year, Postecoglou still has a chance to be remembered similarly.