Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham request to keep him 'happy' shows a change in attitude

Ange Postecoglou's personal hope when it comes to his two talented Tottenham teenagers suggests a potentially different view on his career path.

Spurs beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night and two of the stand-out performers on the evening were 18-year-old midfielders Lucas Bergvall, who scored the winning goal, and Archie Gray, who has been filling in as a centre-back in recent weeks.

Postecoglou lavished praise on both players after their latest impressive performances.

"Lucas was brilliant. Like I said, I haven't lost sight of the fact that we've got two 18-year-olds, one who's playing at centre back, it's not even his position," said the Australian. "I just don't think people really understand the level of performance that these young guys are giving us at the moment.

"We had a goalkeeper on his debut. Djed's playing left-back, unbelievably well. Lucas is just growing all the time. He's got that ability as a footballer to create space for himself. He's got the quality, but he works awfully hard for the team as well.

"Like I said, we've been dealing with some adversity for sure, but we've had some growth in that, I've got no doubt about that. That's been masked by poor results and poor form for sure. I've got no doubt that when we get our players back, the foundations are really strong, with a group of players we can really grow with."

When football.london asked Postecoglou about Gray's performances as a centre-back and playing every three days alongside Radu Dragusin, there was a genuine desire from the experienced manager that he needs to continue to be a part of his two teenagers' journeys for the future.

"And in a position he's never played mate, you know, he's never played!" he said excitedly. "An 18-year-old. Name me another Premier League team that's got two 18-year-olds and one playing out of position consistently.

"I'm so happy they're at our football club and you know, in two or three years' time, I just pray to God I'm the beneficiary of their talent, mate, because if somebody else is getting it, I won't be happy."

That would represent a change in tack for Postecoglou who has rarely spent more than two or three years at a club. The 59-year-old has already been at Spurs for 18 months and to see Bergvall and Gray start to hit their stride in terms of their career could take him well into his sixties and stay longer at a club than anywhere else previously in his career.

First, of course, he must survive in the Premier League and at a club that only has roughly an average of 18 months for managerial tenures. So for Tottenham fans, if Postecoglou is still around when Gray, Bergvall and their other gifted young players reach their stride then something will have clearly gone very right at Spurs.

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