23 October 2023 , 01:00
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Ange Postecoglou is aiming to unite Spurs fans behind their football on Monday night.
The north Londoners host Fulham as they bid to maintain their fine start to the season by returning to the top of the Premier League. The spectre of far more serious events in the Middle East has put sport firmly into perspective.
Postecoglu diplomatically swerved questions about the potential impact on his players. “I have just got to be careful about what I say,” he said. “I have been at this club for four months. People have spent lifetimes in these clubs. So I am not going to go round telling people how to feel, how to behave, how to act or what to think.
“The greatest role a football club can play in these scenarios is to provide what they have always provided – a sense of one place where people can come and escape and hopefully unite as one to support their football club. Maybe sort of take them away from whatever troubles they may have.
“I think that’s the greatest role any football club has. In terms of the club’s position itself, whatever club I have been at, I have always been guided by their response to these things. They talk to a lot more people and have a better understanding of what the current sort of climate is rather than somebody like me.”
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Spurs’ Israeli forward Manor Solomon tweeted his solidarity with his country last week and Postecoglu does not intend to police his players’ social media use relating to the conflict.
Ange Postecoglou is aiming to unite Tottenham fans (Henry Browne/Getty Images)“I have spoken to Manor,” he said. “Because he’s dealing with a couple of things. He has just had his surgery as well. I have been helping him through that process. Again, it’s not about me trying to extract information from him. I am there. He’s going through what he is going through, like a lot of people in his position.
“Hopefully he feels like there’s a place here where if he feels he needs some extra help or guidance, we can give it to him. I am not really sure where that space is. That’s going to be determined by him and where he is at. But I had a chat to him a couple of days ago.
“I spoke a couple of weeks ago about having a balance in life and he’s got a couple of things to deal with at the moment, apart from that issue with his own injury. The good thing is he feels really positive about the surgery and how it has gone so far. And he is really keen to get back involved with the team.”