Ange Postecogloutechnician of the Spurshas opened Pandora’s box. In rehashing the incoming market carried out this summer, the Greek coach revealed a behind-the-scenes story: before considering the hiring of Dominic Solanke, the management had examined the profile of Ivan Toney (formerly of Brentford, currently at Al Ahli).
Past and present. “We followed him (Toney, ed.), but Dom (Solanke, ed.) was the one we wanted and matched the profile we were looking for at that time,” Postecoglou began. The conversation came up in relation to the former Bournemouth player’s lack of goals in the first two Premier League games, a factor that doesn’t worry the Spurs boss in the slightest: “Just take a deep breath, do a bit of yoga, think about the world for a second and then make an assessment.”
And again: “We shouldn’t always rush to make a judgment, because the alternative is that he could have started off great, be in form, scored in all four games, be flying and then, like all strikers, go through a period in which he doesn’t score. I don’t look at these things. I look at the fact that he arrived, settled in very well and logically got an injury that interrupted the way he wanted to start his career, but he still has a lot of time to do that.”
As for the seasonal goals and the constant push from the fans to put some trophies in the cabinet: “I came here to try to do something – said Postecoglou – that has not been done for a while. You can’t think that my arrival will change things, you have to change things and it can be shocking, but it is necessary to achieve our goals”.