"Usually in my second season I win things. That's the whole idea," Ange Postecoglou said in an interview with Sky Sports before Tottenham's opening game of the season against Leicester City. "First year is about establishing principles and creating a foundation. Hopefully the second year is going onto win things."
Spurs haven't lifted any silverware since their League Cup triumph 16 years ago, but some supporters would have bought into Postecoglou's words, because he has the CV to back it up. The 59-year-old has won 10 trophies in his management career to date, including two league crowns at Celtic and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup - the first major title in Australia's history.
Postecoglou's first season at Tottenham was also very encouraging, despite their failure to pip Aston Villa to the final Champions League spot. He brought an entertaining brand of football back after the dour Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho regimes, while also countering the huge loss of Harry Kane with a series of clever signings.
The platform for future success was indeed laid, but just three games into the 2024-25 campaign, worrying cracks have started to appear. Spurs could only manage a 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Leicester at the King Power Stadium, and although a subsequent 4-0 rout of Everton briefly lifted the mood, an away defeat at Newcastle brought Postecoglou crashing back down to earth just before the international break.
Next up: Arsenal at home. The North London Derby is always a highly charged affair, but Tottenham are now in a position where another loss will do real damage to their top-four ambitions, even with the season still in its infancy. Postecoglou has to get a result, or all the good will he's built up could go flying out the window - and notoriously trigger-happy co-chairman Daniel Levy may start getting an itchy finger.