Under-fire Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday insisted he was joking when he said being a Premier League manager was harder than being Prime Minister.
The 59-year-old Australian told reporters earlier this month that coaches face “an election every weekend and either get voted in or out”, whereas a UK Prime Minister usually faces an election just once every four or five years.
“Can I just say that obviously sarcasm and irony is lost (on people) in this country if people actually believe that I was serious when I said that,” Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game at home to Wolves.
“There are far more difficult jobs than being a football manager or even than being a prime minister of a country.”
Spurs’ recent league results have been no laughing matter for fans, with Thursday’s 1-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest following an embarrassing 6-3 loss at home to table-toppers Liverpool.
Spurs, without a major trophy since 2008, are now a modest 11th in the table but they remain involved in four competitions, with Postecoglou still on course to maintain his record of winning a trophy in his second season at a club.
Postecoglou, asked if he still had the support of Tottenham’s fanbase, replied: “They love their football club, they care about their football club and they want their football club to succeed. They make those feelings and emotions seen.