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“Unacceptable”, “not a big club” – why so many Tottenham managers keep leaving on bad terms
Ange Postecoglou aimed a brutal dig at his former club Tottenham when speaking on an episode of The Overlap today, and he’s not the first to make similar claims about the north London side.
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The Australian tactician was sacked by Spurs at the end of last season despite winning the Europa League final and giving them their first trophy in almost 20 years.
Fast forward to just eight months later and Thomas Frank has also been sacked after an unsuccessful stint with Tottenham, who have gone through a really difficult period since Mauricio Pochettino’s reign.
Spurs don’t seem to have too much trouble hiring top managers, with the likes of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho also among the coaches to take a seat in the club’s dugout in the last few years, but it’s clear that all of these managers keep encountering similar problems with the culture of the club.
Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham are not a big club
Speaking on The Overlap, Postecoglou made it very clear how frustrating he found it at Tottenham, insisting they don’t live by their motto of ‘to dare is to do’ and that they need to learn to take more risks.
“When you look at their expenditure and particularly their wages structure, they’re not a big club,” he said.
"They're not a big club!" ?
Ange Postecoglou gives his verdict on Spurs’ current situation after the sacking of Thomas Frank! ? pic.twitter.com/5SpXGhAKpI
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) February 12, 2026
“I think they didn’t realise that, to actually win, you’ve got to take some risks.
“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.”
Postecoglou’s frustrations sound very similar to what Conte said in an infamous rant shortly before he left the job.
Antonio Conte on Tottenham’s “story” under “this owner”
In an extraordinary outburst in March 2023, Conte vented his frustration at THFC and their lack of success under Daniel Levy.
As quoted by BBC Sport, the Italian tactician said: “Tottenham’s story is this – 20 years there is this owner and they never won something. Why?
“The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.
“Until now I try to hide the situation but not now because, I repeat, I don’t want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans.
“If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me.
“Maybe previously in the other games something can change. But here we’re used to it for a long time. The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility. And the players? The players? Where are the players?
“In my experience, I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect. And this aspect, I can tell you, in this moment is really, really low.”
Jose Mourinho had no connection with Tottenham
Although Mourinho didn’t go into as much detail as Postecoglou and Conte, it’s clear he also had major issues with Spurs.
The Portuguese tactician isn’t one to mince his words, but if anything he was actually quite polite when he admitted he had a special connection with all his former clubs – expect Tottenham.
It might have been tempting for the Special One to twist the knife further here, but credit to him for showing a little self restraint on this occasion.
“I hope the Tottenham fans don’t get me wrong, but the only club in my career where I don’t have still a deep feeling for is Tottenham. Probably because the stadium was empty, Covid time. Probably because Mr Levy didn’t let me win a final and win a trophy,” Mourinho said, as quoted by the Guardian.
“It’s the only one – all the clubs I feel a connection. Maybe people [will say] you cannot love every club. Yes, I love every club! With Roma, we will be connected forever, like all my previous clubs – except Mr Levy’s club.”
Mauricio Pochettino praised Daniel Levy’s work at Tottenham
One recent exception to all this is Pochettino, who clearly had a much better working relationship with Levy than his successors.
The Argentine may have ended up getting sacked like they did, but when asked about it a few years later, he didn’t seem to have anything but positive feelings towards Spurs and Levy.
“I cannot say if it was fair we were sacked or not – that is football and we need to accept the rules of football,” Pochettino said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“Daniel is really clever, clever enough to understand that the feelings are the feelings. But that doesn’t mean that the people don’t recognise your job.
“He was amazing, the job he’s doing for Tottenham, for the club.
“You see Tottenham 20 years ago and now, how it [the club] changed, how it moved on and I think you need to recognise his job.”
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