Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has praised Ange Postecoglou ahead of facing his Tottenham Hotspur side this afternoon.
John McGinn has heard great things from Celtic players about Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou.
McGinn’s Villa and Postecoglou’s Tottenham lock horns in the Premier League this afternoon.
Tottenham will be looking for a response after two defeats in a row amid a number of big absences.
Beating this Villa side won’t be easy though, with Unai Emery’s men losing just once in the last eight Premier League games.
John McGinn praises Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou
Missing players like James Maddison, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven is an enormous blow to Tottenham.
Playing Postecoglou’s style without those players is difficult but the Australian won’t back away from his principles.
Villa midfielder McGinn has now told the Daily Mail that he thinks Tottenham are so ‘exciting’ to watch under Postecoglou.
McGinn is a lifelong Celtic fan, so saw Postecoglou coaching the Bhoys for two years before heading to North London.
McGinn noted that he saw plenty of the jokes about Postecoglou when he took the Tottenham job, calling the opinions ‘nonsense’.
Postecoglou was mocked upon arriving in Scotland having previously managed in Japan, and many fans in England suggested that he could only manage in a ‘pub league’.
The Scotland ace added that he spoke to Celtic players and heard great things about Postecoglou, believing that he is now showing his class in the Premier League after his time in Glasgow.
McGinn sees similarities between Postecoglou and Emery, believing both managers have clear identities and want to stick to their approach.
“When he was appointed Spurs manager I heard the same old nonsense us Scottish people hear down here: ‘Oh he’s only done well up there because it’s a pub league’,” says McGinn. “But I had spoken to the Celtic players and my brothers who had played against his teams and they spoke very highly of him.”
“Tottenham are exciting to watch. Their home game with Chelsea recently was the wildest 100 minutes of football I’ve ever seen. I have never met their manager but I only hear good things about him. It’s similar to the way the manager is thought of here. They have a clear identity how they want to play and they stick by it,” he added.
Postecoglou won two league titles at Celtic and is now looking to bring some silverware to Tottenham.
Today’s game won’t determine the success of that dream but Postecoglou would certainly love to get back on track this afternoon.
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