Ange Postecoglou grateful to Eddie Howe for journey to Tottenham

Eddie Howe’s Celtic snub played a part in Ange Postecoglou eventually taking over at Tottenham (Andrew Matthews/John Walton/PA)

Ange Postecoglou admits he owes Newcastle boss Eddie Howe a thank you for his unintended role in his journey to Tottenham.

Sunday will see Postecoglou and Howe go head-to-head for the first time, but back in the summer of 2021 they were the talk of Glasgow.

Howe was widely expected to take the vacant Celtic role only to turn it down following prolonged negotiations, which resulted in Postecoglou getting the nod.

Ange Postecoglou won five trophies during his Celtic tenure (Steve Welsh/PA)

The Australian never looked back and after he won five trophies during his two-year stay in Scotland, it convinced Spurs to give the 58-year-old his first opportunity to be a Premier League manager.

“Oh absolutely, sliding doors moment,” Postecoglou acknowledged.

“There’s probably been no bigger decision in me being here today than Eddie knocking back the Celtic job.

“I haven’t thanked him, I probably should.”

Postecoglou quickly took the Premier League by storm upon his arrival and guided Tottenham to the top flight summit in October, but the past six weeks has produced a five-match winless run and a growing list of absentees.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.

But the experienced coach is not in the mood to panic, he insisted: “The pressure is the pressure, you know.

“It’s always there, it’s how you kind of treat it and I’ve never let it sort of guide my path or my way forward.

“For me, I don’t have a three or five year plan up my sleeve that’s