Ange Postecoglou focused on Tottenham after being linked to England manager job

Ange Postecoglou is fully focused on bringing success to Tottenham rather than considering a return to international management after being linked with the England job.

The Football Association is on the hunt for a new England boss after Gareth Southgate announced his decision to end his eight-year spell in charge, two days after defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Australian Postecoglou is reportedly one of several coaches under consideration – along with the likes of England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley, Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

The 58-year-old, though, stressed his immediate attentions were on preparing Spurs for the new Premier League campaign, with his side having opened their pre-season with a 5-1 win at Scottish Premiership side Hearts. Postecoglou led Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first season as a manager in the Premier League.

“I am at the start of pre-season and am the Tottenham manager, so I have got nothing else [on my mind] but trying to bring success to this football club,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports News. “Until I do that, there is no point in me thinking about anything else. I had a nap this afternoon, so I have no idea what is going on [with the speculation].”

Postecoglou, who was born in Greece, had a spell in charge of Australia’s men’s national team from 2013 to 2017, and led the Socceroos to the 2015 Asian Cup title. He announced his resignation as Socceroos boss a week after securing qualification for the 2018 World Cup, going on to a successful stint as manager at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan before taking the Celtic job in 2021.

Asked if he would consider a return to an international job in the future, Postecoglou said: “I enjoyed my time [with Australia]. I had four great years.”

“We won the Asian Cup and qualified for the World Cup, but with all these things there is always a natural end, and I thought it was a natural end for me there. I loved coaching the national team. In the future, who knows? Five years ago I was in Japan, and now I am in the Premier League.”

England’s next match will be against the Republic of Ireland on 7 September in the Nations League, with an interim manager to be chosen by that point should a full-time successor not be on board by then.