Ange Postecoglou focused on Tottenham after being linked to England job

Ange Postecoglou is fully focused on bringing success to Tottenham rather than considering a return to international management after being linked with the England job.

The Football Association is on the hunt for a new England boss after Gareth Southgate announced his decision to end his eight-year spell in charge, two days after defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Australian Postecoglou is reportedly one of several coaches under consideration – along with the likes of the England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley, Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Júrgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

The Daily Telegraph reports that 58-year-old Postecoglou has been tracked by the FA for years, with technical director John McDermott an admirer of his successful and attractive attacking ethos with the Australian national team, Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos, Scotland’s Celtic and now Premier League Spurs.

Postecoglou, though, stressed his immediate attentions were on preparing Spurs for the new Premier League campaign, with his side having opened their pre-season with a 5-1 win at Scottish Premiership side Hearts. Postecoglou led Spurs to a fifth-place Premier League finish in his first season at the helm.

“I am at the start of pre-season and am the Tottenham manager, so I have got nothing else [on my mind] but trying to bring success to this football club,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports News. “Until I do that, there is no point in me thinking about anything else. I had a nap this afternoon, so I have no idea what is going on [with the speculation].”

Postecoglou, who was born in Greece, led the Socceroos from 2013 to 2017 and took them to the 2015 Asian Cup title. He announced his resignation as Socceroos boss a week after securing qualification for the 2018 World Cup, going on to a successful stint as manager at Yokohama F. Marinos before taking the Celtic job in 2021.

Asked if he would consider a return to an international job in the future, Postecoglou said of his Socceroos spell: “I enjoyed my time. I had four great years. We won the Asian Cup and qualified for the World Cup, but with all these things there is always a natural end, and I thought it was a natural end for me there. I loved coaching the national team. In the future, who knows? Five years ago I was in Japan, and now I am in the Premier League.”

England’s next match will be against the Republic of Ireland on 7 September in the Nations League, with an interim manager to be chosen by that point should a full-time successor not be on board by then.