THE only mercy from this season for Tottenham Hotspur is that it will soon be over. Defeat to Brentford in the final home match of the 2022/23 campaign resulted in Spurs taking a walk of shame, not a lap of honour. There has been no honour in this season. A complete sporting and psychological reset is needed this summer.

Several managers have been linked with the vacancy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but with Mauricio Pochettino on his way to Chelsea and Julian Nagelsmann no longer believed to be in the running Daniel Levy will have to make an imaginative appointment. Left-field candidates are being considered. Feyenoord’s Arne Slot is the new favourite.

Ange Postecoglou should be on Tottenham’s radar. In fact, he’d be the perfect man for the job in many ways as highlighted by the incredible success he has enjoyed at Celtic over the past two seasons. Postecoglou doesn’t have the name recognition of Pochettino or Nagelsmann, but he would tick a lot of boxes for Spurs.

Two years ago, Postecoglou arrived at Celtic at a time when the club needed reconstruction in all areas. Their team had reached the end of a cycle and there was no sporting structure in place above Postecoglou to help harness him. The Australian had to mould a team and establish a new transfer strategy on his own.

13 players left and 16 players were signed. Postecoglou used his own knowledge of the global game to find value in foreign markets where Celtic could get more bang for their buck. Players like Kyogo Furuhashi, Felipe Jota and Reo Hatate quickly became stars and Postecoglou built a team renowned for their high-energy, attack-minded approach. Back-to-back titles followed. This season could finish with Celtic winning a Treble.

After three successive conservative managers in the form of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, Tottenham’s next coach must favour a more expansive, exciting style of play. Fans aren’t just exhausted by poor results, they are exhausted by the insipid performances repeatedly produced by their team in recent times.

Postecoglou’s appointment would signify an ideological shift. The 57-year-old demands the highest physical and technical attributes from his players. Postecoglou is also a maximiser of talent, as demonstrated by the way Celtic held their own in the Champions League this season despite having a fraction of their opponents’ resources.

Tottenham face a number of difficult squad decisions. Harry Kane might not have the stamina for another rebuild and could push once more for a transfer. Son Heung-min has struggled this season and so any new manager must determine whether this is a dip in form or the start of a terminal decline.

Hugo Lloris is reportedly considering a switch to Saudi Arabia while questions persist over the quality of Spurs’ defensive and midfield units. A rebuild should have happened when Pochettino left all the way back in 2019. By putting it off this long, Tottenham have only made their job more difficult.

Levy can’t afford to get another appointment wrong. Competition at the top end of the Premier League is growing stiffer. Rivals like Aston Villa and Newcastle United are on the rise and so Spurs can’t count on their place in the ‘Big Six’ to sustain them. There’s nothing to stop Tottenham from tumbling even further down the table.

A club in a better position would wait to hire a new Director of Football – Fabio Paratici resigned last month amid a financial scandal involving former club Juventus – before deciding on a manager, but Spurs need to make fast decisions. Postecoglou often does his best work when he is left to his own devices. No other candidate fulfils the criteria as wholly as the Australian.