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After following up his two-year stint as Tottenham head coach with a 39-day spell as Nottingham Forest boss, it’s fair to say that Ange Postecoglou’s managerial stock has taken something of a battering over the past 12 months.
The Australian’s bittersweet Spurs exit came shortly after he had led the club to their first European trophy since 1984 when they won the Europa League back in May, but he paid the price for overseeing Spurs’ worst league campaign of the Premier League era, as the club limped to a 17th-place finish.
But according to former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who played under Postecoglou at Celtic for two seasons, the 60-year-old’s man management skills are up there with any in the game - and Hart can’t wait to see him back in the dugout.
Joe Hart on why he ‘loved’ playing for Ange Postecoglou
“I just want him to be happy,” Hart, who will be appearing as a pundit on TNT this week, told FourFourTwo. “I want him to be taken somewhere. He's got his way of doing things, and I loved being part of what he did.
“I loved being a player under him. I love him as a person, but I want the club to be able to commit to what he's going to bring because he's consistent, super consistent with how he behaves, super consistent with what he wants from his team, super consistent with his messaging.
“That's why I loved playing for him, because there were no grey areas,” Hart, who won two Scottish Premiership titles under Postecoglou at Celtic, continues. “We had a very successful two years. When you lose one game, especially if you lose one game playing the way he wants you to play, which can be quite - if it's not played well, it can look really messy.
“But that's not down to his coaching. That's down to the players, how we play on the day. Or, you know, from my goalkeeping, have I got it in me to just stay on that ball a little bit longer, just to allow the gaps to open up? Can I play that ball?
“If he does go back into coaching, which I think he should, because he obviously brings a lot to the game, I just want him to be at a club that fully commit to him, understand him, and back him because, he’s a really top manager to play for.”
Hart also admits that Postecoglou can have a spikier side, with plenty of journalists on the receiving end of an Ange barb in recent years.
“I think he only becomes abrasive when he has to say things five or six times,” Hart believes. “If you watch him interview, if you watch his opinion, if you watch how he talks, it's only when he's [asked for the] second and third and fourth [time].
“It’s very much the same answer and if you watch the first time he's asked it, very welcoming, looking for the conversation, looking for, 'You've got your point of view. I've got my point of view.' I think by the third and fourth time, he stands up for himself.
“So that's my reading on it. But look, it's a journalist's dream, to be honest, because you can enjoy him when it's going well, and then you can poke the bear when it's not. But, you know, he's not daft.
“He knows what's going on, but he just stands by and, like I say, clear messaging - that's why I loved playing for him.”
Hart was speaking on behalf of TNT Sports, who will be showing live coverage of Wolves vs Liverpool, Aston Villa vs Chelsea, Brighton vs Arsenal, Fulham vs West Ham, Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United vs Manchester United and Tottenham vs Crystal Palace this week.
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