David Moyes points to ‘enormous’ Celtic example as West Ham United prepare for Tottenham test
West Ham manager David Moyes is “surprised about how surprised everyone is” regarding the impressive start former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has made at Tottenham.
Postecoglou arrived at Tottenham in the summer following a two-season spell at Celtic, during which time he won five domestic trophies.
Moyes was asked about his opposite number at Wednesday’s (6 December) news conference ahead of the following day’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as quoted by West Ham’s official website.
“Ange Postecoglou has done remarkably well,” he said. “Tottenham are a really, really good side and he’s made a big difference to what they’re doing and how they play. He’s made a big difference to the atmosphere there too.
“I’m a bit surprised about how surprised everyone is at how well he’s doing, given how well he did at Celtic too.
“To manage Celtic is enormous, and there is a lot of pressure in that job, and Ange was able to cope and deal with that.”
One point from 12
Postecoglou has indeed done a good job at Tottenham but, even accounting for the 3-3 draw at Manchester City, there is a sense that results are now levelling out.
Spurs won eight and drew two of their opening 10 Premier League matches, but they have since taken that one point against City from a possible 12 on offer – not helped by a mounting injury list.
Indeed, victory for the Hammers on Thursday (7 December) and they will be within three points of bitter rivals Tottenham with 15 games of the season played.
What is interesting in all this is that Moyes was linked with the Celtic job when Postecoglou departed, only to instead stay on as West Ham manager.
That may well be a job opportunity Moyes explores further down the line, especially with just six months now left to run on his West Ham contract.
If the opportunity is indeed “enormous”, do not be surprised to see Moyes’ name in contention to succeed Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park one day.
In other West Ham news, Chris Sutton says he “is not convinced” as he predicted the outcome of the Hammers’ trip to Tottenham.