27 October 2023 , 22:14
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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou left Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher in stitches by continuing his Pep Guardiola gag and landing a savage blow.
Postecoglou has enjoyed a superb start to life at Spurs and guided them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table on Friday thanks to a grafting 2-1 victory away to Crystal Palace. The Aussie-Greek manager has been joking about 'copying' Guardiola since Neville compared his tactics to the Manchester City boss' earlier this season.
"I think these coaches have taken a Pep Guardiola idea and made it quite ineffective," former Manchester United captain Neville claimed on Sky Sports in August. "There is no doubt there is balance between the risk and reward, but Spurs need to adapt."
Postecoglou made a subtle dig the week after Neville's comments and has now got his own back. During their post-match chat at Selhurst Park, the Spurs manager was jokingly asked by Carragher, Neville's fellow pundit: "Do you think as the season goes on, with no European football, you'll be able to get your ideas across more? Because at the moment you are just copying Pep, aren't you?"
"I just study one game a week to see what he's doing!" Postecoglou hilariously replied, with Neville and Carragher both laughing alongside him. "I see what he's doing and go from there. And do you know what? There's nothing wrong with that."
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Neville then admitted in reference to his failed spell at Valencia in the 2015-16 season: "Even I tried to copy him!" Not missing a beat, Postecoglou cheekily quipped: "How'd that go?"
The former Celtic boss, the two pundits and host Kelly Cates were in stitches, but what will have delighted Postecoglou more is Tottenham's performance after having to dig in against Roy Hodgson's Palace.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were both left in stitches (Sky Sports)Have your say! Can Tottenham challenge for the Premier League title? Join the debate in the comments section.
"It's not an easy place to come to and the way they set up, they are disciplined defensively," the Spurs manager told BBC Match of the Day. "I think we stayed patient and scored two good goals. [I'm] really pleased."
"I thought it went how the game would go and it would take time for us to open them up. I am happy that we stayed disciplined and stuck to the football we wanted to play."