Tottenham ‘not a big club’ says former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham Hotspur are “not a big club” because of their policy in the transfer market, former manager Ange Postecoglou has said in the wake of the London club’s sacking of head coach Thomas Frank on Wednesday.

Frank replaced Postecoglou after the Australian was sacked despite winning the Europa League last season, but struggled and left with his side in 16th position in the Premier League, five points above the relegation zone.

“When you look at their expenditure and particularly their wages structure, they’re not a big club,” Postecoglou told The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast.

“I saw that because, when we were trying to sign players, we weren’t in the market for those players.”

Postecoglou took Tottenham to fifth in his first season in charge but they failed to build on that and finished 17th in his second campaign, despite winning the Europa League to end a 17-year wait for silverware.

He said the club’s reluctance to compete with the Premier League’s big hitters in the transfer market was holding it back.

“I think they didn’t realize that, to actually win, you’ve got to take some risks,” he said. “I felt like Tottenham as a club were saying, ‘we’re one of the big boys’, and the reality is I don’t think they are.”

Frank was Tottenham’s fifth full-time manager since the popular Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019, months after leading them to the Champions League final.

One of the major beefs of the club’s fan base is they fail to land their transfer targets.

Frank had hoped to sign Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White last summer but he stayed at Forest while Arsenal beat Tottenham to the signing of Eberechi Eze.

Postecoglou, who was sacked by Nottingham Forest after 39 days in charge earlier this season, suggests Frank did not realize the type of structure he was walking into.

“There’s no guarantee whichever manager you bring in. They’ve had world-class managers there and they haven’t had success. And for what reason?” he said.

“Thomas is walking in and what’s his objective? What’s the club’s objective? Did Thomas know he was walking into that? I don’t know.”