"In the broad church of football philosophies, I have stayed really strict to one religion. I went into a library of football books and got stuck on one section that was about attacking football," Ange Postecoglou said in a recent interview with the Daily Mail while addressing Tottenham's 4-1 derby loss to Chelsea on November 6.
The Australian was criticised for continuing to play a high defensive line after seeing two players sent off, but he doesn't regret sticking to his principles. "It's the only space I feel comfortable in," the Spurs boss added. "If you asked me to set up a team to get a point by playing defensive football, I could probably do it, but I wouldn't have anywhere near the conviction as if you asked me to try and win 3-0. I actually understand what people are saying about that night. If I was on the outside, I would be saying the same thing. But this is the test for me, isn't it? The amount of times I hear managers saying: 'I would like to play this way but I don't have the players…'"
Postecoglou's comments contrasted wildly to those made by Erik ten Hag about his Manchester United side earlier in the year. The Dutchman earned a standing among Europe's elite coaches after building an exciting young team at Ajax, who enjoyed great success following his fluid, attack-minded blueprint. But United lost eight of their opening 15 games in all competitions this season, including a dismal 3-0 home loss to arch rivals Manchester City, after which Ten Hag said: "I can't play like Ajax because I have different players."
Ten Hag admitted to altering his style in order to fall in line with "the DNA of Manchester United". His intention has been to play more direct against teams that press high out of possession, but it's led to a serious regression, with the Red Devils now set up as more of a counter-attacking side.
Meanwhile, Spurs are able to dominate games building from deep, and inverted full-backs Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro have played a key role in breaking the lines with their progressive passing. Postecoglou then has a host of top-quality forwards to call upon who can cause maximum damage in the final third against any opponent, as United found out to their peril when slumping to a 2-0 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the second weekend of the season.
No one will be surprised if there is a repeat of that result at Old Trafford on Sunday, because Ten Hag's muddled team are very much inferior to Spurs right now. Postecoglou is also proving to be a superior coach to Ten Hag, and United fans must be looking at the job he has done in north London with great envy heading into a pivotal fixture.