Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou started the season in a positive manner but has appeared increasingly frustrated in recent weeks.
Tottenham fans absolutely loved the start to the Postecoglou era and rightfully so.
Postecoglou brought new life to Spurs and provided fans with exciting football to watch, a far cry from the conservative brand of football served up in recent years.
Recent weeks have been tricky though with Spurs losing four games in a row before then beating Burnley 2-1.
Tottenham then lost 2-0 to Manchester City on Tuesday night, a result which actually suited many Spurs fans.
Defeat leaves the Premier League title in City’s hands rather than Arsenal’s with the bitter rivalry taking precedence for some supporters.
Postecoglou isn’t particularly pleased about that mentality and his unhappiness feeds into the idea that changes are coming at Tottenham this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur want Matt O’Riley
Postecoglou has come in from a mentality at Celtic where winning is the only acceptable result.
The hatred for their rivals may be even deeper than Tottenham’s despite of Arsenal but Postecoglou wants Spurs to take a more selfish, win-no-matter-what approach.
Bringing that mentality to Tottenham won’t be a swift process but Postecoglou may look to land one of his former Celtic players to help that switch.
Give Me Sport now claim that Tottenham are interested in signing Celtic playmaker Matt O’Riley with Postecoglou keen on a reunion.
It’s stated that West Ham United are keen on O’Riley but Spurs could launch a move.
O’Riley has been sensational this season, racking up 16 goals and 17 assists in 46 appearances for Celtic.
The 23-year-old – hailed as a ‘wonderful’ player by boss Brendan Rodgers – is the kind of playmaker Tottenham may seek in order to add competition for James Maddison moving forward.
Celtic want to keep O’Riley for at least one more year but Tottenham could test that resolve with a hefty summer bid.
It’s not just Postecoglou’s knowledge of O’Riley to factor in either.
Tottenham’s Danish technical director Johan Lange will certainly be aware of top Danish talents like O’Riley and may fancy bringing him to Spurs.
O’Riley history under Postecoglou
Celtic pounced to sign O’Riley from Milton Keynes Dons in January 2022, Postecoglou’s second window as Bhoys boss.
The Denmark international played 72 times under Postecoglou, bagging eight goals and 16 assists in the process.
O’Riley’s numbers are certainly better under Rodgers and there have been suggestions of the midfielder aiming criticism at Postecoglou.
Speaking last summer, O’Riley indicated that Rodgers was bringing a ‘refreshing’ change around Celtic as he was taking time to speak with players – hinting that Postecoglou didn’t do any of that.
Postecoglou responded by suggesting that he just isn’t the type of manager to sit with his players at lunch and ask about their day.
Perhaps this was all blown out of proportion – as O’Riley has suggested – and Postecoglou still rates O’Riley highly as a player, especially after his displays this season.
Postecoglou is yet to raid Celtic for a player since becoming Tottenham boss but O’Riley may well be worth snatching having dazzled in Glasgow this term.