Ange Postecoglou explains what he looks for in his talks with Spurs transfer targets

Ange Postecoglou has revealed that he puts a lot of weight into the first conversation he has with a potential transfer target as he wants to ensure they are coming to Tottenham for the right reasons.

The famous Postecoglou phone call

A lot of the players that Spurs have signed over the last 12 months have referenced their conversation with Postecoglou as one of the things that convinced them to make the switch.

However, the Australian has now explained that rather than having to convince the players about the project, he looks for signs that they are keen to join the club.

The 58-year-old explained that when he has a good feeling about a certain player after a conversation, they generally turn out to be the right signings.

When asked what he looks for in those talks, the Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “Some of it is just maturity – it’s how the conversation goes. Really, I’m a big one on players who are really excited to join the club. You might think that that should be a given, but it’s not always the case.

“Sometimes, rightly so, players go, ‘Oh, I’ve got other options,’ and they do, the kind of players we’re looking at, they’ve got other options. It might be better financial conditions or a different competition, or a bigger club in their mind, whatever it is.

“If you’re having a conversation that’s going that way, it kind of tells me that I’ve got to really figure out why this person really wants to come to us. What’s the underlying reason?

“Where, if you get that sense – and I’ve had it with most of the guys we’ve signed – ‘Yeah, I just want to sign for Tottenham, buzzing, can’t wait to get started,’ that’s a good starting point for me, because you know you’ve got someone who, from the day he signs, is all in on the club for the right reasons, you know.

“They’ve come to Tottenham and that was their choice. It wasn’t because we gave them more money or it’s whatever other reason. Beyond that, it’s that intuitive thing of just trying everything to get an understanding of what the motivations are, what kind of person they are.

“It’s not an exact science and you get these things wrong, but usually, when I’ve walked away with a really good feeling about the conversation, it kind of gives me the confidence to say ‘Well, okay, we can push on’.”

Postecoglou wants players to buy into his project

Postecoglou also spoke about the challenges of getting players to fully buy into his ethos, acknowledging that results have to be favourable for the squad to fully believe in his approach.

He added: “As managers, particularly in the initial period, we have a fair bit of power and influence to say, ‘Well, we’ll do this my way,’ and for the most part players will do that, but then that wears off because eventually they’ll want to see some fruits for their labour and see how it develops.

“So it’s about are they doing it because I’m telling them, or are they doing it because they really believe and understand what we’re doing? You can see that growth.

“I’ve been doing it for a long time, so I really feel last year we laid some really strong foundations in terms of some underlying core values that I saw from the first day we got back into pre-season, and now it’s about building on that.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Even though Spurs had a torrid run of results in the last couple of months of last season, the players, on the whole, still very much seem to have bought into Ange’s methods. However, doubts will inevitably start creeping in if we do not start the season well.

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