“Irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown” – Postecoglou “disappointed” with headline ahead of Europa League final | OneFootball

Ange Postecoglou expressed his disappointment with a headline ahead of Spurs’ UEFA Europa League final, which sees The Lilywhites come up against Manchester United at Bilbao’s San Mamés.

It’s been a difficult season domestically for both sides, although Tottenham Hotspur have prevailed in both of their Premier League meetings with United during the campaign.

“Usually in my second season I win things,” the Australian told Sky Sports ahead of the first match of the 2024/25 campaign – and now, with the club set to finish no higher than 14th, the Europa League remains his only chance to lift silverware.

During Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, The Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick asked the 59-year-old: “If you win tomorrow night, this is going to be remembered as one of the best seasons in the club’s modern history. Conversely, if you lose, it might be remembered as one of the worst league seasons in the club’s history. I just wondered if you’re conscious that you’re walking a fine line between two very different types of infamy in history really?”

Postecoglou admitted that the answer “depends on your outlook”, but insisted that “irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown, mate.”

The Spurs boss was referring to Kilpatrick’s article published earlier on Tuesday, which pondered whether Postecoglou is “teetering between hero and clown with Tottenham legacy on the line.”

“I never will be,” Postecoglou snapped, “and I’m really disappointed that you’d use such terminology about a person who – for 26 years, without any favours from anyone – has worked to be in a position where he’s leading out a club in a major competition. For you to suggest that somehow us not being successful means that I’m a clown, [I’m] not really sure how to answer that question.”

Spurs face Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League final at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] on Wednesday 21 May.