'It never stops': no rest for busy Ange on homecoming

With the dust barely settled on his Melbourne homecoming, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will barely take a breath before plunging into preparations for his second Premier League season.

Postecoglou, 58, relished a "special" friendly match against Newcastle United in front of 78,419 fans at the MCG on Wednesday night.

After slipping to a 5-4 loss on penalties, with scores locked at 1-1 after fulltime, Tottenham players were due to fly out later that night for either national team commitments or their holidays

"I thought it was an enormous effort from them, when you consider the travel we needed to do to get here and obviously straight after a pretty important Premier League game for us, to play tonight," Postecoglou said.

"They're going back. A lot of them have got maybe a few days off before Euros or Copa America and the rest will get their breaks.

"So yeah, the boys will be straight out tonight."

'it never stops': no rest for busy ange on homecoming

Spurs star midfielder James Maddison celebrates his goal against Newcastle. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Postecoglou, too, indicated he would quickly get back to business after a short break.

"I got the bus ride back to the hotel and that'll be it, mate, and then we get going. It never really stops, the reality of it is," he said.

"But I'll have some time off. I'll meet up with the family on the weekend and we'll go to Greece and switch off for a couple of weeks.

"But it never stops, there's plenty to do. But there's a lot of people who are working, doing the bulk of it. I'm just there to hopefully provide some direction."

After a fifth-placed finish, Postecoglou indicated he was keen to get any transfer business done early so the new recruits could be in place for pre-season.

Adding more firepower in attack will be crucial as Spurs prepare to juggle their Premier League hopes with Europa League commitments.

A decision is yet to be made on whether to make Timo Werner's loan move permanent.

"I mean it's no secret. You saw the way we finished the season," said Postecoglou.

"We obviously lost Richarlison and Timo as well with injuries. But we're fairly light on in that area.

"We started the last season with Manor (Solomon) and (Ivan) Perisic and we were quite healthy in that front third in terms of numbers.

"But as the year went on, it became pretty evident we need to bulk up. We're obviously in Europe next year as well, so there'll be more games.

"So it's definitely an area of the park we'll need to strengthen."

Playmaker James Maddison, who has thrived under Postecoglou since his move from Leicester, relished seeing the reception his manager received in his home town.

"He is quite popular, isn't he?" Maddison quipped with a smile.

"Ange is a good man. A great character and I love working for him.

"To see him in his country with the support he gets here, it was nice to see."

Maddison was confident Spurs could hit new heights as Postecoglou's reign progressed.

"The first season of any new project has its ups and downs," Maddison said.

"But I think we can achieve big things, hopefully - the first year of many I hope."

OTHER NEWS

34 minutes ago

How much is landlord insurance – and how can you cut your costs?

34 minutes ago

NBA champion Paul Pierce weighs in on decision to leave Caitlin Clark off US Olympic team: 'It was a bad move'

34 minutes ago

Riley Herbst comes up just short of second career win at Iowa

34 minutes ago

Chinese premier promises more pandas and urges Australia to put aside differences

34 minutes ago

Joe Biden Rips Donald Trump At Start Of Star-Filled L.A. Fundraiser: “I Could Have Done Nothing And Done Better Than He Was Doing”

34 minutes ago

Crockett calls Thomas ‘corrupt’ after Supreme Court decision to upend bump stocks ban

34 minutes ago

National weather forecast for Sunday June 16

37 minutes ago

Everything to Know about Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, Disney Cruise Line's Second Private Destination in the Bahamas

37 minutes ago

Nottingham Open: Emma Raducanu leads Katie Boulter in 'Battle of Britain' as play suspended

37 minutes ago

Sentimental: ANC reaffirms values, says only democrat values welcomed

37 minutes ago

WNBA Expected to Lose $50 Million Despite Popularity: Report

37 minutes ago

Celtics Blew a Sweep in the NBA Finals, Just Like Two of the Best Teams Ever

40 minutes ago

How To Get Cheap Amtrak Tickets: How I Find Amtrak Discounts

40 minutes ago

The ultimate guide to travel vaccinations

40 minutes ago

Independence ‘proudly on page one, line one’ of SNP manifesto – John Swinney

40 minutes ago

Orlando Pirates linked with European coach! – Report

40 minutes ago

The Barefoot Investor exposes common smartphone app that is ripping you off at the checkout

40 minutes ago

Young worker reveals the insane amount of money he makes in a week for his entry level role

43 minutes ago

Shooting in Detroit suburb leaves 8 injured, including 2 children, authorities say

45 minutes ago

Kobe Bryant explained why Larry Bird is a Top 5 player of all time: "People really forget how great Larry Bird was…the guy was money"

45 minutes ago

Coach Jesse Marsch finalizes Canadian men's roster for first Copa America appearance

45 minutes ago

Euro 2024: Enjoy, but keep the TV at a healthy distance from your eyes

45 minutes ago

Andrew Findlay's body was found washed up on rocks in one of Sydney's ritziest suburbs after a boating accident. Now there's been a sad development

45 minutes ago

Diver shares video of animals leading them to 'sad' discovery floating in ocean: 'These dolphins were trying to tell me something'

45 minutes ago

‘Creeping’ corporatism touching ‘every part of government’

45 minutes ago

NSW government reveals budget measures that tackle housing crisis

45 minutes ago

Police officer describes uniform as ‘retro cargo’ as he shares fashion tips at races

50 minutes ago

Texan whose husband died by hot tub electrocution at Mexican beach resort files wrongful death suit

51 minutes ago

Massive heat dome brings dangerous heat this week across Ontario and Quebec

51 minutes ago

Australia plot to shake American swimming dominance

51 minutes ago

'I'm pressuring the Israelis': Biden says he warned Israel to follow US instructions

51 minutes ago

Angie Harmon’s daughter, 18, freed from jail without bail: report

54 minutes ago

'Are we going to censor satire?': Rita Panahi slams legal threats against Pauline Hanson

59 minutes ago

Jennifer Aniston, 55, wishes Friends co-star Courteney Cox a happy 60th birthday while sharing sweet throwback snaps

60 minutes ago

Wings' Arike Ogunbowale: 'Politics' involved in Olympics selection

60 minutes ago

Ronaldinho's Brazil Copa América criticism part of ad campaign

60 minutes ago

Spain 3-0 Croatia: Euro 2024 – as it happened

60 minutes ago

Jose Riveiro all about the prep at Orlando Pirates, says Innocent Maela

1 hour ago

J-Rod goes deep to help Mariners win for 6th time in 7 games over Rangers

1 hour ago

Julian Nagelsmann embracing Germany's blistering Euros 2024 start