Coach who worked with Postecoglou and Pochettino explains the big difference

Anton McElhone, a coach who has worked with both Ange Postecoglou and Mauricio Pochettino, has revealed that the former offers a lot more freedom to his players than the latter.

How do Pochettino and Postecoglou differ?

There are many similarities in the way that Pochettino and Postecoglou work, with both coaches demanding that their team is aggressive and plays on the front foot.

Many Spurs fans will feel that the Australian is the first coach since the Argentine to play the ‘Tottenham way’, rather than relying on defending with a lot of bodies at the back and counter-attacking, which was the case with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.

However, McElhone, who worked as a fitness coach at Spurs during Pochettino’s tenure before working as a sports scientist at Celtic between 2021 and 2023, pointed to one huge difference between the two managers.

Pochettino and Postecoglou are very different

He explained that while Pochettino is very hands-on in training sessions and is very specific about the exact patterns he wants to see from his players, Postecoglou takes a more hands-off approach and allows his players a little more freedom, preferring to watch carefully from a distance.

McElhone told The Athletic: “Ange doesn’t take 90 per cent of the training. He steps back so he can see everything and several times, he said to me, ‘That player doesn’t look right’. He takes the tactical stuff and the meetings pre- and post-match, which is he incredible at and brings everything together.

“The themes are there every day with Ange — inverted full-backs, wingers high and wide, breaking lines — but he allows the players to thrive in it, without telling them you must stand here, you must stand there. Whereas Mauricio was very specific to get to his model.

“Players hate when they are restricted. The style is so invigorating that it takes away excuses for players as he takes the responsibility for allowing them to try things in his style. He’ll be ruthless this summer and go and get even better players to play his way.”

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We have already heard a lot about Ange’s hands-off approach and his tendency not to micromanage the training sessions or get too close to the players.

That is clearly to do with his leadership style, with the 58-year-old believing that his words will carry more weight and have more impact if he addresses the players sparingly.