Message from Ange Postecoglou to Man Utd's Erik ten Hag ahead of Spurs clash

Ange Postecoglou has spoken highly of the work being done by Erik ten Hag, despite the criticism the Manchester United boss has faced recently. Postecoglou's comments come as Tottenham Hotspur gears up for their upcoming match against United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A sloppy midweek draw in the Europa League reignited the pressure on Ten Hag, who has now seen his United side win just three of their opening seven games to start the season.

Spurs, meanwhile, faced some early criticism after just one win in his first four games but Posteoglou’s side have bounced back with three wins on the spin.

As the two sides prepare to clash on Sunday, an empathetic Postecoglou was full of praise for the job done by Ten Hag in amongst the pressure-cooker environment of Old Trafford.

‘I think Erik’s in a really tough job and he’s done really well,’ he told reporters on Friday.

‘He keeps mentioning he’s won two trophies and that’s not insignificant, everyone keeps telling me that’s all I have to do, but it’s not all you have to do, because when you do that there’s always more. He’s done a great job, a difficult job.’

The Spurs boss continued: ‘I don’t know who coined the phrase “the impossible job”, but I think it’s become even more impossible now.

‘It seems like success is not enough if it doesn’t have identity, [and] identity is not enough unless it’s followed by aesthetics. Aesthetics are not enough unless they’re followed by legacy.

‘There’s always another layer. It seems like no one is doing a good job unless you win the competition at the end of the year.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any sort of understanding of progress or the circumstances that people have to work under at times.

‘But it’s just the nature of the role. I don’t think that’s going to change. I guess it’s about how you respond to it, how you react to it, how you let it affect you.

‘The more experience you have maybe the better you deal with these things.’

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