'Weird talking about my future' - Postecoglou on 'outstanding' season

Ange Postecoglou, not for the first time this season, was rather baffled.

He had just been asked to assess Tottenham's season following the 4-1 defeat by Brighton - the side's 22nd loss in the Premier League this season.

The Australian bristled at the question, seemingly confused as to how the season could be seen as anything but a blistering success given he had guided the club to its first trophy since 2008 just five days earlier.

"How do I assess it?! Outstanding! " said Postecoglou.

"We won a trophy, which we haven't done for 17 years, and we're in the Champions League.

"Ask anyone at this football club at the start of the year if they'd take that and I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a person in the house that wouldn't."

Having fulfilled his remit of qualifying for the Champions League and winning a trophy, the Australian bemoaned the fact that his future was still up for debate.

"I will be honest, I have been finding it really weird talking about my future when we have done something unprecedented," he said.

"I have had to answer the questions because no-one else at the club is in the position to do so, I guess."

There is only one person who can answer the questions about his future - Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

Sunday's loss against Brighton saw Spurs slip to a 17th place finish, their worst ever in Premier League history.

The 38 points they accumulated is six points short of their previous worst points tally of 44, which they hit in the 1997/98 season.

In fact, Spurs lost twice as many games (22) as they won this season (11), and finished with a goal difference of -1.

Postecoglou will argue that his side was blighted by injury problems over the winter months and that the focus shifted to the Europa League once it became clear that relegation was no longer a threat.

But it is hard to get away from just how bad Tottenham's domestic campaign has been.

They have won just three league games in 2025 - against Brentford, Ipswich and Southampton.

Spurs finished the league season on a seven-game winless run, with their last victory coming against Southampton on 6 April.

Levy must now decide whether success in Europe was a true representation of Spurs' quality under Postecoglou, or whether results in the Premier League are a better indication of the side's calibre.

When Postecoglou said that in "all the best TV series, season three is better than season two" at Spurs' trophy parade on Friday, it was seen as an indication that he had been told he was staying at the club.

But, as he remarked during his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Brighton: "Sometimes they kill off the main character."

After the defeat by Brighton, Postecoglou said he had not spoken to chairman Levy about his future.

"You're asking the wrong person," said Postecoglou.

"Everyone in the media is intelligent enough to know I'm not the person to know to ask those questions.

"I'll have a break and then hopefully we'll be back first day next season to start things."

The question for Levy now is whether he will sack a manager who ended Spurs' trophy drought.

Wednesday's Europa League final win against Manchester United earned Postecoglou the sort of credit with supporters that seemed impossible only a few weeks ago.

Sacking him now would upset many fans, although there are some who feel it is the perfect moment to say goodbye.

That is the conundrum that Levy must consider and, as United discovered when they sacked FA Cup-winning coach Erik ten Hag last year, squaring that circle is never easy.