The former Celtic boss – now at Nottingham Forest – spoke about his time in North London during his media unveiling
16:52, 11 Sep 2025Updated 19:39, 11 Sep 2025
Nottingham Forest unveil Ange Postecoglou at The City Ground
Ange Postecoglou has revealed he knew his time was up at Tottenham BEFORE tasting Europa League glory.
The former Celtic boss – who was unveiled as the new manager of Nottingham Forest to the media earlier today – opened up on his exit from the North London outfit during his press conference.
He delivered on his promise of always winning silverware in his second season by ending the long wait for trophy success by dumping Manchester United and with that booking Champions League football for this season.
Ange’s exit came just weeks after that night to remember in Bilbao.
His domestic record in the English Premier League in his second season didn’t make for good reading with 22 defeats and a 17th placed finish.
They were never in trouble of the drop but it was a position that wasn’t good enough for the club who parted ways.
He has since made a quick-fire return to the dugout at the City Ground as Nuno Espirito Santo’s replacement and he reflected on Spurs’ decision to axe him at the end of the last campaign.
He said: “It wasn’t great. I knew it was coming so it wasn’t a surprise, that’s one thing. I knew it was coming a fair way before the final.
“But we won it and we had the parade, it was a great three days. I didn’t want it to tarnish that.
“But after that I kind of knew it was done. From my perspective, you have the chance to process that.
“Whether I feel it was unjust, other people made those decisions, made those determinations. That’s up to them, you’d have to ask them their reasoning for it.
“What I do know is I had two years where it was very, very challenging but I worked with some fantastic people in the football department.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s Greek-Australian Head Coach Ange Postecoglou holds aloft the Europa League trophy, following their mid-week win in the Europa League Final on May 21, as he and the team display it for fans following the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 25, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
He continued: “The supporters, we put them through some tough times.
“But there isn’t a Spurs supporter that I come across now that doesn’t want to hug me and take me home for dinner, so I must have done something right.
“Ultimately, that’s what we do it for. I’m very proud of what we achieved there and it will always take a special place in my heart.
“How it ended, I don’t really think about it a lot. To be fair, I’ve done it a couple of times myself.
“I left Celtic and I’m sure they were disappointed. I left Yokohama and they were disappointed. You understand that’s part of the business we’re in.
“That’s ok, it’s allowed me to move into this and maybe these things happen for a reason.”