Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou was once of the opinion that an opportunity to work in the upper echelons of club football would never fall his way.

That was before his coaching career took off on a rapid upward trajectory, leading him to “one of the most famous clubs in the world in Celtic” and onward to “one of the biggest football clubs in the world in Tottenham” at age 58.

“It has come late,” he told the BBC, “it just took someone to look beyond the norm.”

The Australian coach sat down with former England international and BBC pundit Gary Lineker this week for a tell-all interview ahead of his first taste of the North London Derby between Spurs and Arsenal on Sunday night (AEST).

Both sides are unbeaten through five games in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, and Postecoglou has earned widespread acclaim for his instant impact at Hotspur Way, earning the league’s Manager of the Month honours for August and earning 13 out of a possible 15 points with an entertaining brand of football that has instantly endeared him to Tottenham fans.

Postecoglou says managing a club like Tottenham doesn’t come without its challenges – but that’s the part of the job he relishes the most having been made to patiently wait to earn his first opportunity to manage in the Premier League.

“People have only discovered me in the last couple of years, where I have had 25 years of being fairly successful,” Postecoglou said.

“I didn’t understand it, I used to come over (to England) five, six years ago – I was (Socceroos) boss and people would introduce me to so-and-so. And it was like going to those Hollywood auditions and being rejected, they just didn’t know who I was.

“It was so depressing, I’d been working for 25 years in this game. “I never thought I would get here, to be honest, not because of my ability, just because no-one was looking this way.

Postecoglou looks back on the brief period between 2007 and 2009 when he was without a job in coaching as the lowest ebb of his career, and one he’s since used as a reference point for inspiration when the going has been tough.

Postecoglou had taken up a punditry role in Australian football media at the time after coaching in the Australian international youth setup, before returning to coaching with Panachaiki in the Greek third division.

That led to his roaring success in the Isuzu UTE A-League with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory between 2009 and 2013, an Asian Cup title with the Socceroos in 2015, and onto trophy-laden spells at Yokohama F.Marinos in the J1 League as well as Scottish giants Celtic, and finally to Tottenham and the Premier League.

“I had a 13-month period where I was out of work,” recalled Postecoglou.

“I was doing punditry work… it was the unhappiest I’ve been in my career – the time when I wasn’t working.

“I always use that as a reference point: it doesn’t matter how difficult the job gets, I know I’d be a hell of a lot more unhappy if I’m not in the role. I love it. I love all of it