Tottenham Hotspur chairman, Daniel Levy, has claimed Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho are “trophy managers”.
According to him, both coaches were good managers, but not the right fit for the Premier League side.
“I want to win just as much as everyone else,” Levy said.
“[There was a] frustration of not winning and the pressure from maybe some players and from a large element of the fanbase of: ‘we need to win, spend money, have a big manger, a big name’ affected me.
“We had gone through a period of where we almost won with Mauricio (Pochettino), we had some very good times. We didn’t quite get there and we were close. We had a change in strategy of: ‘lets bring in a trophy manager’. We did it twice – and you have to learn from the mistakes.
“They’re great managers, but maybe not for this club. For what we want, we want to play a certain way. And if that means it takes a bit longer to win, that may be the right thing for us. That’s why bringing Ange in was the right decision.”
Levy also addressed why he chose to hire current Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou – hinting at a change of direction from hiring “trophy managers” to focusing solely on the style of football.
“Ange is a normal bloke and it is wonderful to have a normal conversation with him,” he said. “He was very direct, honest and I like someone who tells it to me how it is. Not someone who plays games or says one thing to me and says something to someone else. Not talking about anyone in particular!
“This club needed to go back to its roots. There was a lot of pressure on me to bring in a good name, but I wanted to bring the club back to its DNA, who would bring attacking football, that would give young players a chance and believe in the academy, build a relationship with the fans, understand the resources we do and don’t have as a club and be part of a team. Ange is a breath of fresh air.
