Ange Postecoglou has 'no interest' in Liverpool links: 'I'm just getting started at Tottenham!'
Ange Postecoglou has distanced himself from becoming Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Liverpool, insisting he is only just getting started at Tottenham.
Klopp’s announcement last month that he will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season has prompted fierce speculation over the identity of his replacement.
Postecoglou’s impressive first season in north London has seen the Australian’s name linked, along with bookies’ favourite Xabi Alonso, formerly a Reds player and currently top of the Bundesliga in charge at Bayer Leverkusen, and he insists he is solely focused on the job he took on last summer.
Asked whether he is aware of reports linking his name to Liverpool, Postecoglou said: “I may be on a shortlist, [but] I don’t think I want to say anything about that because I don’t think that’s ever going to enter my brain space for what are my priorities in life and profession right now.
“Well, I am [just getting started]. I don’t just feel [like it] — I am. I’ve only been here seven months, so that’s self-explanatory.
“I’ve been at pains to say we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of the football we want to play, team we want to be, squad we want to have. We’ve had two positive windows. I think we’ve had two positive campaigns, a decent campaign so far, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Quizzed on whether there is any doubt he will be in the Spurs dugout next season, the Aussie replied: “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s the funny space when we talk about managers.
“When we’re not going well, then there’s questioning about whether we’re going to be here. When you’re potentially going OK there’s still questioning about whether you’re going to be here. The reality of it is: most of it is out of our hands. I’m never worried about that.
“I’ve got a history of 26 years of management where you can see pretty clearly what I do. I rely on that as my explanation as to where my thought processes are. Right now it’s about finishing the season strongly with Tottenham and making sure we’re trying to establish a really strong foundation for who we want to be in the years to come.
“That can only happen if I’m totally focused on what these last 14 games can bring for us.
“If [the links to Liverpool] is just people throwing up names, then who cares? Like, seriously? But, at the end of the day, if I’m doing a good job then hopefully people will acknowledge that, in one form or another — whatever that form is. But so-called ‘chat’, that’s of no interest to me.”
