Soaking it in: Ange Postecoglou delivered Tottenham’s first trophy since 2008
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Ange Postecoglou said he kept his distance from the Tottenham squad’s Europa League title-winning festivities as he aimed to let them “properly” celebrate the occasion.
Spurs ended a 17-year trophy drought on Wednesday as they beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao, with the celebrations on the night raging into the small hours as they let off steam following a testing campaign.
The energy was just as high 48 hours later, as the Tottenham faithful lined the streets of north London in their thousands to welcome the players home on their open-top bus parade.
While the players were markedly festive, Postecoglou played a secondary role, making a short speech at the post-match afterparty before spending much of the evening with his family.
“I sort of stayed well away from it,” he said. “It's important the boys celebrate. We've been through a lot, and it's part of how you create this winning mentality and bond.
“As I've got older, and I used to be a bit different, but I really feel you need to celebrate your achievements properly and that was kind of my message to the boys.
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“It's important for them, because they're the ones that achieved it and they've done it in a very difficult way. It's important for the people around them because then they can relax and enjoy it as well.”
As I've got older, and I used to be a bit different, but I really feel you need to celebrate your achievements properly and that was kind of my message to the boys
Ange Postecoglou
He hopes the celebrations will inspire his team to more finals in the future: “It’s important to make the experiences, you know, as memorable as possible, so that when I ask them to climb the mountain again, there's a reason for it.
“And fair to say, they took my words literally, and certainly enjoyed themselves over the last couple of days. The last 48 hours and the parade yesterday were just unbelievable.”
The season has been far from easy for Postecoglou, who suffered through a severe injury crisis and faced intense scrutiny from fans and pundits in the process, many of whom tipped him for the sack even after winning the Europa League.
Unsurprisingly, then, the Australian’s overriding emotion at the season’s conclusion will be pride, closely followed by relief.
“It's fair to say we've had a real tough time this year, and I’ve said it quite a few times, that could have made my position really, really difficult, more difficult than people know.
Tottenham Hotspur UEFA Europa League Trophy Parade
Tottenham fans lined the streets of north London to celebrate the Europa League win
Getty Images
“I could have felt very sort of isolated, but the fact that this group of players and the staff that I work closely with just stayed true and still believed in me, it is just tremendous pride to see that then come to fruition in something so special.
“That’s why I love sitting back and watching the players, the staff, our supporters, all just rejoicing.
“Obviously you take on a great responsibility when you take over as a manager of a football club, there’s a lot resting on your shoulders.
“I can tell you every manager, whoever sort of fortunate enough to win something, he'll tell you the first feeling you have more than anything else is just relief. Relief that, you know, all the burden you've carried has been rewarded.”
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