Ange Postecoglou boldly invited pressure on himself and Tottenham with his recent boast that he "always" wins a trophy in his second season in charge. The pronouncement raised eyebrows as it came from the manager of a club without a trophy since the League Cup win under the long-forgotten Juande Ramos in 2008. But Postecoglou was simply stating a fact.
And the Australian's quest to fulfil that promise took a significant step forward with a fully deserved 2-1 win over Manchester City that booked Spurs a Carabao Cup quarter-final meeting at home to Manchester United. For the record, Postecoglou won the Australian title with South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, as well as the Japanese League with Yokohama F Marinos, in his second season or second full season. He also led Australia to an Asian Cup triumph in 2015, two years after becoming their manager, and won the Scottish Premiership in both his seasons at Celtic.
There were occasions when he did not win trophies, but did not see out two seasons in charge of Greek side Panachaiki, Whittlesea Zebras and Melbourne Victory. His Spurs predecessors Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood and Antonio Conte were not allowed the luxury of a second season in charge, while Jose Mourinho did not get his chance of ending their trophy wait as he was sacked days before the 2021 Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. Nuno Espirito Santo was dismissed inside four months.
This explained some of the quizzical looks aimed in Postecoglou's direction aft.