Ange Postecoglou reveals why he will not stop confronting Tottenham bullies

Ange Postecoglou has spoken about the verbal confrontations that he has had with Tottenham fans over recent weeks, insisting that he does not regret standing up to disrespectful supporters even if it ends up piling more pressure on him.

Postecoglou has been blasted for cupping his ears to the Spurs fans on Thursday, with the incident only further derailing his relationship with the Tottenham faithful.

However, that is far from the only instance where the Australian has been involved in a heated exchange with Spurs supporters this season.

Ange Postecoglou was also involved in a heated spat with a Tottenham fan at Craven Cottage two weeks ago just before he walked into the dressing room.

Ange Postecoglou explains why he gets involved in confrontations with Tottenham fans

The Tottenham head coach eventually had to be pulled away from the confrontation by his players after he lost his cool following the 2-0 loss to Fulham.

Postecoglou insists that the young fan on that occasion was simply trying to get a reaction from him, insisting that he wanted to teach him a lesson that bullying is not acceptable.

When asked why he engages with fans who criticise him rather than ignoring them, the 59-year-old told Football.London: “That’s a super point, I’m glad you asked me. That’s something I’m definitely going to fight against. If somebody says to you, ‘That was a good article last night but I don’t like that point you made’, you go, ‘OK mate’ and you might just walk off.

“If somebody says (picks up the phone and holds it up, as if recording), ‘Hey, I didn’t like that article’, what do you think they are trying to achieve? What do I think they’re trying to achieve? They’re not really interested in answering the question, they just want a reaction. They want their five minutes of fame because that’s what this (the phone) gives them.

“That’s what I was talking about, right? For young people, this (a phone) is more dangerous than any weapon in the world, as far as I’m concerned. If I don’t pull up, especially young kids, who put up a phone in my face, then what’s stopping them doing that in the schoolyard? What’s stopping them doing that in general life and bullying people? Because it’s a bully mechanism, it’s not criticism.

“Do you think after almost 30 years in the game that I haven’t received abuse? Mate, from the first day, of course. I don’t react to that. But if somebody is holding up a phone, I will react to it because I won’t accept it.

“It might have been the Fulham game where that happened, it was two young boys doing it. I asked them, I don’t know if it’s shown in the clip, I said ‘Where’s your dad?’ I wanted to talk to their dad. Or ‘where’s your mum?’ They got slightly sheepish and embarrassed because it’s not criticism I’m reacting to, it’s them holding up a phone.

“Why are you holding up a phone? What are you trying to do? So you can put it on social media and say, ‘Look, I got Ange Postecoglou to react, isn’t that great’. I can take it, I’m 60 years old, I don’t care. What if they take that in the schoolyard, what if they do that in general life, what if they do that to you?

“Somebody is walking around and not criticising you, because you’ll say, mate, I’m a big boy, I can handle it, but they put a phone in your face to do it. As soon as I see a phone, I’m going to react. I’m not going to accept it.

“Hopefully, I didn’t swear in that, I wasn’t abusive, all I asked was a simple question. I’m always going to do that. Like you said, I’m fighting the good fight, that sounds a bit trite, here’s this old man who is going to rail against society. But as I said at the outset, I’m not going to be one of these people who accept whatever is put in front of them.”

Postecoglou insists he will not accept disrespect

The Tottenham boss insisted that it is not in his nature to simply look the other way if there is disrespect or abuse thrown at him, making it clear that he will continue standing up for himself.

He acknowledged that it might pile more pressure on him but made it clear that he would not shy away from confronting those who try to bully him.

Postecoglou added: “I’m just not at that stage in my life where I’m going to accept people trying to bully you or antagonise me or try to do things that show total disrespect. Again, I’m not talking about somebody just shouting over a fence at me, and that’s happened a few times and I always react to it and I always will.”

When asked why he feels the need to take on that level of social responsibility, he responded: “Because I feel it’s right. Sometimes you’ve just got to do the right thing, mate. It’s what I believe in. I’ve said many times, I’ve made a real conscious effort of not letting the game change me as a person, it’s what I believe in.

“I’m not a perfect human being, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but there are certain values that I’ll carry through until the day I die. I’ve got kids, I’ve got boys, my wife will ban them having a phone until they are 18 if she can get away with it.

“I really fear for where that kind of thing is heading. I’m not going to accept it. It’s not different to VAR. Obviously it’s a social issue, that’s a football issue, but I’m going to stand up for what I believe is right. People may disagree with me, I understand that. But part of society is having those dissenting voices to ask those questions. I’m happy to take that on.

“I understand the question, that it just piles extra pressure on me, but I don’t see it as pressure, I see it as a responsibility I have while I’m in this public spotlight to call out what I think is not right. I’ll happily take on that responsibility.”

• READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou responds to claim he might be alienating Tottenham fans – ‘Maybe you’re right’

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