Ange Postecoglou makes bizarre ‘if I were Newcastle United manager’ comment ahead of Australia trip

Ange Postecoglou has claimed he would have “probably said no” to the end-of-season trip to Australia if he were Newcastle United manager.

The 58-year-old highlighted Newcastle’s added demands after playing in the Champions League. A lucrative friendly against Tottenham Hotspur just three days after the campaign finishes has attracted criticism from players past and present.

Kieran Trippier has been the only Toon star to publicly condemn the move as “hardly ideal” - citing player welfare as a concern. The 33-year-old believes both Premier League clubs should have considered the upcoming Euro 2024 and Copa America campaigns.

Newcastle do have a chance to expand their global reach - a key aim of the Saudi-backed regime - at the iconic 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground. Postecoglou welcomed the “opportunity” to manage Spurs in his native country but admitted he may have felt differently in the opposing dugout.

"Look we discussed that (decision) earlier and I think our situation is probably a little different from Newcastle,” he said. “You know they've had a European season, the Champions League, (but) we haven't.

“If we were in Europe this year and had a bigger game schedule, I probably would've said no. We thought that with our season being so disrupted and not a lot of games, this was a unique opportunity for us. 

“I wouldn’t see this as something that would happen on a regular basis unless we felt the benefits would outweigh the costs. On this occasion when we balanced everything up, we felt it was a good opportunity to take the club to the other side of the world and help us continue to grow the football club.”