Ledley King On Ange Being A Breath Of Fresh Air

Talking on the he Seaman Says podcast, sponsored by Betway, King described the arrival of boss Ange Postecoglou as ‘a breath of fresh air’ because his philosophy is to get the team to just get out there and try to win games.

“I’ve always felt with Tottenham that we’ve always had good enough players to win any game of football. It’s obviously not always happened, but there’s not been one game where I didn’t believe we were going to win because we have players that are capable of doing that.”

And suggests this is where the manager fits in so well with Tottenham, because “ I think that’s where Ange is at – if we play our game and we play it well, we can win the game, and that’s his thought. Playing well and trying to be entertaining while you’re doing it. It’s just his style.”

And let’s be honest, although we all know that the results are the main thing, we also do demand to play entertaining and attacking football.

King, a rare breed in football these days, being a one-club man (with 323 competitive matches to his name) also says that at times, people over complicate football, talking about styles and systems, but that whatever happens, Ange needs time to stamp his authority on the team.

“ Last season, finishing fifth was good for me. You lose Harry Kane before the start of the season, a new manager comes in and we still got fifth position. Now, we want to see a progression on that, obviously, but I believe in him. If you give him time, I believe that he’s the right man.”

Adding, that the League Cup could well be our best chance of picking up some silverware this season, to help the Club build momentum.

There is a lot more on the podcast, where he talks about his regret at not winning more caps and the knee injury that blighted him.

And then, with an eye on the return of the Premier League after the international break, King says for West Ham, the games against Spurs are their biggest. 

“Big game. For West Ham, it’s their biggest game. You know they love nothing better than beating Tottenham, if they can. It’s strange because it was never really a rivalry for me during my career. It was always Arsenal, then Chelsea became quite a big fixture for us. And then in the background, West Ham started making a big fuss about getting one over on us, so then we had to start taking that one very seriously.”

Does anyone really listen to what West Ham fans say?!

“Now our fans are aware of how much this game means for us. But West Ham are coming off the back of a good result, we’re coming off the back of a disappointing one.” And surely, with it being a home tie,  the bookies will have us as favourites?