Inside the Postecoglou revolution

How new boss transformed the culture and results at top-of-the-table Spurs

- Dan Kilpatrick

NO manager in Premier League history has made a better start after nine games than Ange Postecoglou — and unbeaten Tottenham can extend their lead at the top of the table to five points with a win over Crystal Palace tomorrow.

Since Postecoglou’s appointment, Spurs have been revolutionised from a dysfunctional and fragile counter-punching team, totally reliant on Harry Kane, into an exhilarating attacking side, packed with brilliant young players.

Their strong start to the campaign is backed up by all sorts of performance metrics and comes in spite of the sale of Kane, the club’s greatest-ever player.

Postecoglou and the players have also transformed the mood, rebuilding the connection between club and fans which felt broken at the end of last season.

And, as the head coach has repeatedly said, they are only just getting started.

WHEN Postecoglou was named as Antonio Conte’s permanent successor in June, he was tasked with not only transforming Spurs’ style and results, but performing a full cultural reset at a club which seemed to have lost its very sense of self.

Last season, Kane and interim head coach Ryan Mason both admitted “standards” had slipped, and in his two interviews with chairman Daniel Levy, Postecoglou quickly understood that the job would be about more than simply coaching the first team.

For Postecoglou, changing Spurs’ culture started with changing the people. He interviewed and personally appointed a new team of coaches — Matt Wells and Mason, who began the process of making Spurs a happier place post-Conte, were kept on — and he vetted each summer signing in at least one video call to ensure the club was recruiting the right personalities.