There is a possibility that Tottenham Hotspur will make the same mistake Manchester United made a year ago, if they are victorious against Manchester United in the Europa League final.
Thursday’s Europa League results set up an all-English final in Bilbao on May 21 – and it means two teams that will finish in the bottom half of the Premier League still have a chance to secure Champions League ahead of next season.
Ruben Amorim will be looking to win his first trophy since becoming Manchester United’s head coach, while Ange Postecoglou is trying to deliver on his promise to end Tottenham’s trophy drought, which has been running for 17 years.
The Red Devils had to overcome Real Sociedad and Lyon in the knockout stages before beating Athletic Club 7-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. United’s 4-1 win in the second leg on Thursday night ensured United fans were rushing to book routes to Bilbao for later this month.
Meanwhile, Tottenham overcame two legs against Bødo/Glimt to make it an all-English final, which means there will be even more discussion in the build-up.
Tottenham could learn from Manchester United’s mistake
At the end of the 2024/25 season, many accepted that Erik ten Hag’s shortcomings in the league were proving to be an issue, but there was strong belief that he deserved time to work within an elite sporting structure at United.
United booked a place in the FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City and some reporters suggested they were briefed on intel that suggests Ten Hag would be sacked regardless of the result at Wembley.
However, that didn’t prove to be the case as United beat City 2-1 to be crowned FA Cup champions for a 13th time. Ineos decided to stand by Ten Hag and offer him a new one-year deal, although the Dutchman was sent his marching orders by October.
It would suggest Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co got drunk on the FA Cup champagne and overestimated the need for change at Old Trafford, which in turn set United up for a turbulent 2024/25 campaign.
Tottenham find themselves in a similar position ahead of the Europa League final. Ange Postecoglou is walking a tightrope to keep his role as manager, but the board may change their mind if he ends their trophy drought in Bilbao.
It’s not unthinking for Postecoglou to remain at Tottenham if they win the Europa League.
Their decision on Postecoglou’s future would best come from a position of what they’ve seen from him so far, which has been underwhelming after the reputation he had built at Celtic.
Tottenham cannot afford to make the same mistake. If it comes down to one match deciding a manager’s future, then Daniel Levy needs to take a good, hard look at himself. There is no evidence to suggest that winning the Europa League will lead to better league form in the following season.
United acted poorly when they decided to extend Ten Hag’s stay after FA Cup final success and Ratcliffe went on record to say that he was wrong to keep the Dutchman at the club.
Postecoglou’s record against Manchester United
Postecoglou has faced United on six occasions in his career as a manager, with the first meeting taking place in 2000, when he was in charge of South Melbourne.
Five of those meetings have come as Tottenham manager, with the Australian coach victorious in four of those games.
| Games | Wins | Losses | Draws |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Postecoglou has never lost to United during his time in charge of Tottenham.
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