How Tottenham felt after claims Liverpool wanted to appoint Ange Postecoglou before Arne Slot

Today at 05:45 AM

Back when it was first announced that Jurgen Klopp would be leaving Liverpool, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was high up on the club's list of potential replacements.

When he first arrived at Tottenham, Postecoglou had a scintillating impact, Spurs were top of the league for a period only to be halted by some untimely injuries to the likes of Micky van de Ven and James Maddison.

However, judging by his first few months in the job, Tottenham had bagged one of the world's best tacticians, explaining why Liverpool were keen to steal Postecoglou.

Of course, Arne Slot was eventually the man to arrive on Merseyside, an appointment that no one at Anfield will regret, not even those who may have wanted Ruben Amorim.

Tottenham refused to lose Ange Postecoglou when Liverpool came knocking

Either way, if Spurs were more receptive to Liverpool's interest earlier this year, it's interesting to consider how different things could be for both clubs.

Reported by the Metro back in February, Postecoglou was being considered as an alternative to Xabi Alonso, another strong contender for the job at the time.

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Liverpool had noticed Postecoglou's impact in north London and were seriously interested.

Fortunately for Tottenham, at the time at least, the club were confident that Postecoglou wouldn't leave , as came true.

Postecoglou was happy in London at the time and was set for a 'significant bonus' when Spurs finished in the top four, which looked almost set in stone at the time.

Now, Postecoglou is being criticised in the wake of Liverpool's 6-3 win in N17.

And whilst no one is suggesting that the former Celtic boss is at risk of losing his job, it's interesting to think how different things could have been.

Postecoglou’s Tottenham record has taken a turn for the worse

Of course, Liverpool were interested in Postecoglou following his brilliant start at Tottenham, progress that was arguably halted by a damaging 4-1 defeat to Chelsea back in November 2013.

Since, Spurs' form has mostly been disappointing, and it's fair to say that Liverpool may not be so interested in Postecoglou today were Slot to make a shock exit.

In the game mentioned against Chelsea, Tottenham lost some important players to injury, a situation that is repeating itself today.

However, Spurs simply aren't responding with enough pragmatism.

Slot praised Tottenham and Postecoglou after Sunday's game, but the Spurs boss should probably take more compliment were his side able to get under Liverpool's skin.

Perhaps Postecoglou can still turn things around in N17 with the right personnel, after all, he's still the same tactician that had Spurs top of the league, but there's no doubt that his stock has fallen since links to Liverpool.