Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has doffed his cap to the intuitiveness of West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady after she predicted in May he would take the Premier League by storm.
Spurs host West Ham on Thursday aiming to end a four-match winless run, but they still sit fifth in the table after an excellent start to the campaign.
Postecoglou has been without a host of players during the past month but earned plaudits for an unwavering commitment to his attacking philosophy, which resulted in Tottenham fighting back to earn a 3-3 draw at Manchester City last weekend.
Back in May, Brady used her column for the Sun to tip the then Celtic boss to flourish in England if given the chance.
Asked if he had seen Brady’s “love letter”, Postecoglou said: “Ha ha, no. I don’t know Karren, I’ve never met her and I don’t think I’ve ever come across her, but in many respects, wouldn’t that make her fairly ahead of the game?
“I reckon she’s a pretty smart operator! I’m not sure about the love letter stuff, mate.
“I guess me moving to Celtic kind of brought me closer to this part of the world.
“I was aware, particularly Celtic-Rangers, everyone down here watches it and it gets into people’s consciousness. I guess if Karren knows, then all credit to her.”
Tottenham head into Thursday’s London derby having ended a three-match losing streak.
Dejan Kulusevski 90th-minute effort at the Etihad Stadium earned a draw for Postecoglou’s injury-hit team, who were predicted by some pundits to lose heavily at the Etihad if he continued to adopt his bold tactics.
“With a game like that, when you come out of it, what you want is to give the players something,” Postecoglou said.
“Show them something to say, ‘look, you did it. It’s not just words, this is not just an idea, you did it’. And it may have only been for small parts of the game, but if you can do it for small parts, then the challenge is can we extend that to bigger areas?
“Whereas if you never even try it, you never know. So, if I changed my approach for the Man City game, that’s where I would have lost. I wouldn’t have had any opportunity to give that feedback to the players.
“So, from that perspective, we got a lot of good information out of that game. Good and bad, like areas where we really struggled.
View this post on Instagram
“Like I explained it to the other coaches, when you’re panning for gold, there’s a lot of dirt there, but you’re just looking for that little speck.
“And we’ve got quite a few specks of gold that I can show the players after the game that say, you know, if we keep digging here, this will get some nuggets eventually.”
Tottenham will have Cristian Romero back for the visit of West Ham and Richarlison returned after minor surgery on his groin to make a cameo in Manchester in a welcome boost after their list of absentees had entered double figures.
It has forced Postecoglou to use the majority of his squad, but one player without an appearance this season is former captain Hugo Lloris, who had been expected to depart the club this summer.
Postecoglou has kept Lloris part of the first-team fold, but it is widely accepted he will depart in 2024, either during the January transfer window or once his contract expires next summer.
Postecoglou added: “Whilst Hugo hasn’t been playing, he hasn’t changed his demeanour in any way. He is very professional and great for the other keepers to have him there with his experience.
“January? It’s a decision for Hugo and the club. I don’t have that power and don’t want that power (to release him).
“Hugo is a member of this squad and how he trains every day is important to me. If he wasn’t then I’d be dealing with it but I haven’t had to. He has been absolutely first-class and as a manager, I don’t take that for granted.”
Conor Gallagher shelving Chelsea future thoughts to focus on England and Euro 2024
Conor Gallagher is parking any thoughts about his Chelsea future to focus on England's bid for Euro 2024 glory in Germany.
The 24-year-old midfielder has been linked with a Stamford Bridge exit amid reports the Blues might cash in to ease their Profit and Sustainability rules situation, with any sale for Gallagher classed as 100 per cent profit due to the fact he came through the academy.
Tottenham and Aston Villa are among those to have been linked with a move for Gallagher, who was one of Chelsea's more consistent performers in a topsy-turvy 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
However, Gallagher - chosen for a second successive major tournament - is not allowing himself to look beyond the Euros as Gareth Southgate's men prepare to begin their Group C campaign against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.
In quotes reported by BBC Sport, Gallagher said: "I'm a Chelsea player right now and I'm just thinking about England and the tournament.
"It's not difficult. I'm away with England and I couldn't be happier with the position I'm in.
"I've just been focusing on England. This is the most important thing right now for me and the country.
"I'm hoping I can help the team more on the pitch in this tournament."
Nagelsmann urges Germany to beat pressure of being Euro 2024 hosts
Julian Nagelsmann is confident his side can beat the pressure of being the host nation as they prepare to kick off the tournament against Scotland on Friday.
The 36-year-old is taking charge of his first major tournament with Germany after taking over from Hansi Flick in September and has lost just one of his eight games since taking over.
Germany have struggled in recent major tournaments, getting knocked out of Euro 2020 in the round of 16 before crashing out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stages.
However, Die Mannschaft are aiming to end that run, chasing a fourth European title and their first since 1996, with Nagelsmann confident his team can channel their nervous energy into positive performances.
"I think we're a bit nervous, but it's an important point, we have to have a certain nervousness," he said. "There was such a buzz [in the camp], a bit like in school. It was really loud: 'Can everyone please calm down a bit!'.
"I look in our players' eyes and see the belief and will to win. I want us to believe in ourselves: we have great players, good togetherness, home advantage, we've had great training sessions and a good mentality.
"We have everything: we just have to show it tomorrow, and that's why belief is very important.
"We can beat pressure, and we can beat Scotland as well."
Scotland arrive as heavy outsiders and are making just their fourth appearance at the Euros compared to Germany's record 14.
The Tartan Army qualified second in their group after a strong opening to their campaign, and Nagelsmann praised their performances under Steve Clark.
"They don't have world stars, but that makes them very dangerous," he added. "They work very hard and have a classic mentality, but it's not a kick and rush team. They can do that, but they can play football.
"We will have more pressure on us than Scotland, and they will want to capitalise on that."
Orlando City v Los Angeles FC: Pareja seeking injection of confidence
Oscar Pareja believes it is important for Orlando City to rediscover their self-confidence ahead of Saturday's clash with in-form Los Angeles FC at Inter&Co Stadium.
The international break means Orlando have been out of action since a 1-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls on June 2, their third straight game without a victory.
While they sit a lowly 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with 17 points, LAFC are second in the West with 30 points after winning five in a row in MLS play.
Asked about the value of having time off to reflect on their poor run, Pareja said: "It's important, because with the work we do, the intensity of how we do things is important.
"We are optimistic after having a refresh when we needed it."
On the challenge of facing LAFC, the Orlando coach added: "Many teams have challenges with players being away. We are professionals, we expect a team that is playing well.
"But at the same time, it's a great opportunity for us to play well and raise our confidence, to get the points we need right now."
In all competitions, LAFC have won their last six matches without conceding, becoming the first team from MLS to ever accomplish that feat.
Head coach Steve Cherundolo believes that achievement is the result of a team effort, saying: "I think the team is playing a mature, professional, complete 90 minutes.
"Some teams have better defensive solutions against us so we don't have quite as many chances, but in every game we are creating chances and we are not giving up many chances.
"Our collective defending is very good. You're seeing it all come together."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Nicolas Lodeiro
Lodeiro has been involved in nine goals in MLS play against Los Angeles (five goals, four assists, including playoffs).
Only Cristian Espinoza (15) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11) have been involved in more versus them.
Los Angeles FC – Denis Bouanga
Bouanga scored LAFC's goal in their 1-0 win over FC Dallas last time out on June 1.
The goal was Bouanga's 48th in all competitions since the start of last season, 16 more than any other MLS player in that time.
MATCH PREDICTION – LOS ANGELES FC WIN
LAFC are unbeaten in four all-time meetings with Orlando (two wins, two draws), though the Lions did eliminate them on penalties from the quarter-finals of MLS is Back in 2020.
Orlando are winless in their last five home matches, drawing two and losing three while failing to net in each of their last three – they had only previously gone three home matches without netting in their second, third and fourth home MLS games back in 2015.
LAFC, meanwhile, have won seven successive matches in all competitions, the last six of them to nil. They will fancy their chances of victory, even without home advantage.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 37.7%
Los Angeles FC – 35.9%
Draw – 26.4%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
