16 days after guiding Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final, Ange Postecoglou has been fired as manager of Tottenham.
Spurs won their first major trophy in 17 years with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Bilbao.
But it happened near the end of their worst Premier League season, in which the London team lost 22 of their 38 games and finished in 17th place.
To commemorate his second campaign’s success in Europe, the Australian informed supporters that “season three is better than season two” as they assembled for a victory parade.
However, the 59-year-old’s stay in north London has come to an end two years to the day after Spurs declared he would sign a four-year contract to join them from Celtic.
Thomas Frank, the manager of Brentford, is predicted to be a top candidate to succeed Postecoglou. Other candidates that have been discussed include Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth, Marco Silva of Fulham, Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace, and former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is currently in charge of the United States.
In a statement, Spurs said that Postecoglou will be remembered for having “one of the club’s greatest moments” as their third manager to win a European trophy.
But they added they could not base their decision on “emotions aligned to this triumph” and felt a change was necessary after a “review of performances”.
In Postecoglou’s first season as manager, Tottenham finished fifth, and in his second season, he fulfilled his pledge to deliver trophies.
“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime,” he said in a statement.
“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream.”
Of managers with 100 or more games in charge of the club, Postecoglou ranks seventh with a 46.5% win percentage from 101 matches in all competitions (47 wins, 15 draws and 39 losses).