Ange's approach is new to Tottenham but Celtic 'second is last' mentality has gone with him and is no surprise

It might have felt all very new to the uninitiated in Enfield. But when Ange Postecoglou held court at Tottenham’s training ground for the first time yesterday lunchtime, it all looked and sounded very familiar.

The occasional rolling of the eyes or puffing of the cheeks all to give off the impression that his patience might snap at any moment. The gruff, if softly-spoken Aussie twang. He talked about “his football” and how his players are being pounded to within an inch of their lives outside on the training ground. Because he won’t accept anything less. But what may have raised an eyebrow back across the border was his emphatic response to any suggestion that he’s stepping up in class now that he’s left the SPL for England’s top flight.

And yes, they couldn’t even get the name of the league right. Then again, neither did Postecoglou. What he did say, however, is that he’s joining a bigger league, competing against the best managers in the world, with better players at his disposal, and shed-loads more cash to throw at making them better.

All of which did sound a little bit like a “step up”. But this was classic Postecoglou as he introduced himself in typical style to a whole new audience and a whole new league.

And not for the first time he detects the need to prove he belongs in such a rarefied environment. And yet he made it clear also that the connections made over two glittering years in Glasgow were never going to get in his way once Spurs came calling.

He said: “Yeah it was a tough decision. It’s a special club. If you have a bucket list as a manager of clubs you want to manage, that is probably one of them.

“The supporters are not really supporters, the club is an extension of them, it’s a family. We had a