Spurs star says the squad has bought into ‘exciting’ and ‘proactive’ Postecoglou style
Oliver Skipp says that he and his Tottenham teammates have found training extremely enjoyable under Ange Postcoglou, insisting that the whole squad has fully bought into the methods of the Australian and his coaching staff.
Tottenham fans had to put up with some defensive and negative football over the best part of the last three years, which is why there is some renewed excitement among the fan base over the style of football that Postecoglou is expected to deliver in N17.
Although Spurs ended up losing the first pre-season friendly of the summer against West Ham last week, there were more than enough evidence from the performance to suggest that the Lilywhites are indeed going to be a completely different outfit during the upcoming season.
Skipp admitted that the players are really enjoying the process of learning how their new head coach wants them to play.
When asked about how he has found working with Postecoglou, the midfielder told Football.London: “Really exciting, the style of play, being proactive in all we do. I think players have enjoyed preseason.
“We’ve been working hard but as a player, when you see the balls come out all the time it’s really exciting. We’ve enjoyed working hard but also we’ve tried to implement what the manager wants.”
Skipp is enjoying Postecoglou’s style of play
The 22-year-old admitted that while the players are enjoying playing on the front foot, they still have a long way to go to fully implement Postecoglou’s principles of play.
When asked if he feels he can thrive in the new system, the Tottenham academy graduate responded: “It’s exciting, being front foot is something a lot of players want so the whole team has bought into it. We need to keep working to improve.
“There are going to be times when it doesn’t really go right at the start but for sure pressing and playing forward and being proactive fits my game well. There will be opportunities to show this through the season and we’ve got to try and implement these features into our game.
“Growing up in academies, lots of academies try to play front foot, pressing, whatever you want to call it, football.
“But there are definitely elements the manager is trying to implement that will take time and the preseason is really important, hence why I was so desperate to come to really understand what he wants from us.
“We know it won’t be perfect at the time but it’s important to lay the foundations for what we want to be this season.
“Every style has its pros and weaknesses. This style is proactive, trying to implement our style. Only one game so far but hopefully you’ll see it through the season. As a player, this style is what we grew up watching. To play this way is really exciting.”
Spurs Web Opinion
After years of doing the same reparative drills under the likes of Mourinho and Conte, and playing with a handbrake on, it is not surprising to hear that the Tottenham squad are now enjoying the fact that they are being given an opportunity to express themselves.
