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Tottenham Hotspur Ange Postecoglou visited Buckingham Palace this week but the Australian could leave King Charles disappointed on Saturday by relegating Burnley, a club the British monarch has a soft spot for.
Speaking ahead of the game in which Tottenham will try to halt a four-match losing sequence in the Premier League and send Burnley down, Postecoglou recalled his royal date.
“We got an invite from the Australian government. Me and the other Aussies in the group, Mile (Jedinak), Scott (Munn), Charlie Grant from the women’s team. It was nice, a different experience,” Postecoglou told reporters.
Burnley will be relegated unless they win at Tottenham and Postecoglou was asked about the King’s allegiance and whether he had any qualms about upsetting him.
“Probably why they kept him away from me!” he said. “I would be happy to disappoint him on that front. No problem.”
The Tottenham contingent did not meet Charles personally and Athens-born Postecoglou joked he might have got himself thrown out if he had.
“Yeah, but I didn’t get within 10 feet of the King and if I had of got closer I probably would have asked him about the Parthenon marbles and I would probably have got thrown out,” he said.
“It was nice for me and my wife. These are experiences you are just fortunate because of the position I hold, not necessarily who I am.
“When you’re in that space it’s special. So, yeah, it was a good day.”
Greece has long-called for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures – or Elgin Marbles – which were transported from Athens to London in 1807 and sit in the British Museum.
Speaking of more usual topics, Postecoglou said Tottenham’s poor end to the campaign which is likely to have scuppered their Champions League qualification hopes has not changed his thinking about what the club need to do in the close season.
“The planning for the summer has been in hand for quite a while,” he said. “We know what we need to do. Nothing in that space has changed. So for me, how players and staff deal with adversity is more important for our growth than a reflection of us wanting to make more changes.”
Spurs avoided humiliation after a late push at Anfield last weekend, but the 4-2 defeat left them in fifth place and seven points behind Aston Villa, although they have one game in hand.
The loss came after their 4-0 thrashing at Newcastle United, followed by a 3-2 home defeat by Arsenal and a 2-0 loss at Chelsea but Postecoglou said clear thinking was needed rather than knee-jerk reactions.
“I think I have been consistent in saying we have got a challenge at the moment – a short term challenge,” Postecoglou said. “A significant rebuild, and the challenges will always be there and it is how you approach them.
“From my perspective, I need to be clear-headed about what we want to do and what we want to achieve. It is fair to say everyone is trying hard, it’s not because of a lack of trying — we need to stay calm and clear-headed.”
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