“A phone call from Postecoglou was a great honor”: the coach reveals the story behind the call
Tottenham Hotspur coach Matt Wells has applauded head coach Enze Postecoglou.
Postecoglou took over at Spurs ahead of this season. He arrived in the Premier League (PL) after a successful spell at Celtic, but was met with mixed reviews.
Postecoglou has turned those concerns into praise. His unorthodox, high-pressing tactics led to a 10-match unbeaten run in the league, and his uncompromising philosophy of playing “fun football” with a lot of forward pressure earned him a lot of applause from the fans.
Along with Postecoglou, there”s someone else who is helping Tottenham to create their own color. Coach Wells. Wells is a longtime Tottenham coach who played for the club as a youth player. He was the head coach of Tottenham’s U-18 team and has been coaching the first team since this season.
“Tottenham coach Wells has revealed how Postecoglou gets the best out of his players in training sessions and how he came to work with him,” Football London reported on April 28.
“When Tottenham appointed Postecoglou as head coach, I traveled to Italy to meet him in person. I was there for four or five hours talking about soccer with him and had a great time. We talked about his vision, tactics and ambition,” he concluded.
Coach Wells was very pleased with his conversation with Mr. Postecoglou: “I was energized and inspired by the conversation with Mr. Postecoglou. I felt a sense of urgency to work with Mr. Postecoglou. I thought I communicated well with him in that conversation, but I wasn’t convinced that I would be able to join him as Tottenham’s first team coach.” Postecoglou’s philosophy and tenacity attracted him.
Against Wells’ expectations, Postecoglou wanted him, and told him in person that he wanted him to join Spurs, which Wells described as “a huge honor” after hearing the news over the phone.
Once they actually started working together and training, Postecoglou was even better, he said. “Coach Postecoglou called the coaching staff together and explained what he wanted to do,” says Wells. He made it clear that he wanted to share the coaching with the coaches. He then said, ‘As long as all the components are there, it’s up to the coaches to design and run the actual drills,’ which was very empowering for the coaches.”
Postecoglou has put a lot of trust in his coaching staff. It’s not easy for a big club like Tottenham to do well with just one manager. The quality of the coaching staff is obviously important. Postecoglou understands this and has put his trust in his coaching staff.
Not only the coaches, but also the players have full faith in Postecoglou. Vice-captain Cristian Romero himself called him ‘a great coach’ in an interview.
Postecoglou’s accolades continue to roll in from both inside and outside the club. Tottenham’s fiery soccer and good results can be traced back to Postecoglou.