Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham boss on how ‘ultra-competitive’ Son Heung-min creates positive environment

Published 26/09/2024 at 09:53 GMT

Ange Postecoglou lauded the contribution of Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min ahead of their UEFA Europa League opener against Qarabag on Thursday evening. Postecoglou also spoke about how the competition helps his squad. Spurs embark on a campaign in Europe's secondary competition, where they will also face Ferencvaros, AZ Alkmaar, Galatasaray, Roma, Rangers, Hoffenheim, and Elfsborg.

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Ange Postecoglou heaped praise on Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min ahead of their UEFA Europa League opener against Qarabag on Thursday – live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The South Korean has fond memories of facing the Azerbaijani side after scoring his first two goals for Spurs against the same opposition just over nine years ago.

Postecoglou spoke glowingly about Son’s influence on the squad and the characteristics which make him the ideal man to lead the team on the pitch.

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“Pretty much what you see is what you get with Sonny,” Postecoglou told TNT Sports in an exclusive interview.

“Anyone who's had any sort of interaction with him or watched him from afar will know he's a really positive guy.

“He's very competitive, he's constantly pushing himself and others around him. He's got a real positive energy and been an enormous help for me since I've been here, because he's been at the club for quite a while now.

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“He knows the ins and outs of it. Having a guy like him, particularly with his positive nature works well with the environment I want to create. So, it's great to have him as part of the group.

“He's no different to what you see behind the scenes compared to on the football pitch. He's ultra-competitive, but always positive with everything he does, his interactions with people and the way he engages with people is always with a positive backdrop.

"He can't do enough for anybody that he comes across, but always in the back of his mind he's a winner and wants to be the best that he can be. He's an ideal person to have as a leader.”

The Australian explained the different ways in which the Europa League will test his squad, and how the competition gives the likes of Mikey Moore a chance to impress.

“It's important for our whole group," he explained. "We've got a fairly young group, and with us not being in Europe last year, just having that experience of European football is different to what you get on a weekly basis in the Premier League or in the cup competitions.

“You sometimes face different conditions; I think it's a great challenge, not just for the young guys, but for the team we want to evolve into.

“We're not looking at it as an opportunity just to give players game time, it's got to be earned. But certainly, Mikey and the other young boys have earned their position in our first team.

"When we finalised that first-team squad, the idea in mind was for everyone to contribute and get an opportunity to play."

Postecoglou is also relishing the prospect of tactically preparing for continental matches, and how a greater degree of planning takes place compared to domestic fixtures.

He said: “It's usually a departure from what you get on a weekly basis, whilst in the Premier League there's all sorts of styles and tactics. For the most part, you're meeting the same kind of intensity, tempo and same kind of stadiums, sometimes.

“European football is a departure from that. Sometimes you find teams that play totally differently to anything else. You play in stadiums or atmospheres that are different to what you're used to.

"There's the travel involved, so all things make it a different challenge to your normal weekly routine. That's the exciting bit because all new experiences allow you to evolve individually and as a group."

He added: “I love it; from a planning and a preparation point of view, you've got to be on high alert. It's not that you get into a routine on a weekly basis, but we have certain things we do regularly.

"When European football comes into it, you have to change; the travel aspect, the recovery aspect, the way we scout. A lot more scouting comes into it because we don't see these things regularly.”

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