'Every weekend mate' - Ange Postecoglou explains why managing Tottenham is harder than being prime minister

Speaking ahead of Spurs’ Carabao Cup quarterfinal clash against Manchester United, Postecoglou shared his perspective on the precarious nature of football management, referencing recent sackings in the Premier League as Wolves parted ways with Gary O’Neil, while Southampton dismissed Russell Martin just hours after Spurs’ 5-0 win at St. Mary’s.

Postecoglou drew parallels between football management and politics, highlighting the weekly scrutiny football managers face.

“This job is the hardest job now in any walk of life,” declared Postecoglou. “You can say politics but this is harder than any job. The tenure and longevity of this role means very few are going to come out of it without any scars. How many times does [Keir Starmer] have an election? I have one every weekend. We have an election every weekend and either get voted in or out.

"We have lost all sort of modes of respect in our society where guys are in jobs and they are putting up names of who is going to replace them while they are still working. As a society, we are so quick to just throw people in the trash and move on really quickly with no thought or any care around it. I don't know if there is a good way or a best way of handling it."

Postecoglou lamented that the modern managerial career often entails a long list of clubs on one’s resume and also criticized the increasingly impatient culture in football.

“This notion that clubs want to bring managers in and build stuff doesn’t exist,” he said. “The moment there is a bit of a wobble there will be flak coming from all areas. Gary and Russell are both outstanding young managers who have long careers ahead of them. Unfortunately, for them at the beginning of their careers, that’s what a manager’s career is going to look like. You’ll find that from now on managers are going to have about 20 clubs on their CV. Even the successful ones.”

Postecoglou is keen to end Tottenham’s lengthy trophy drought, with their last silverware coming in 2008. While he emphasized the importance of winning the Carabao Cup, he stressed that a single trophy would not be enough to achieve his broader ambitions.

"If I go on the general sentiment since I've been in this job, it feels like a trophy will just make this place transform into something, so let's see," he said.

"Me personally? Like I keep saying, I want more than that. I don't think it's just about getting a trophy. I think when you want to build a successful, sustainable club in terms of competing for trophies every year, it's more than that, but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about something while I've been in this job. Maybe a trophy is what it needs, I don't know."

The match against Manchester United on Thursday represents another crucial step in Tottenham’s journey under Postecoglou. As the team seeks to secure a place in the semifinals, the manager’s words serve as a reminder of the broader challenges facing football managers in today’s high-stakes environment.