Spurs will be well ahead of schedule if they can end barren Reds run

Liverpool will be good test for Postecoglou

- Dan Kilpatrick

IF TOTTENHAM want a blueprint for what might be possible with Ange Postecoglou, they need only look at tomorrow’s opponents.

Under Postecoglou, Spurs will not copy any other club’s model — “We’ve got our own blueprint,” the Australian said last week — but there is obviously inspiration to be drawn from Liverpool’s record since Jurgen Klopp’s appointment in 2015.

Klopp’s Reds have been by far the most effective competition for Manchester City, winning everything there is to win at home and in Europe without the support of a state or oligarch.

Instead of being the very wealthiest club (though they are clearly up there), Liverpool have been one of the cleverest, using data to nail recruitment and a build a formidable squad for a top coach, something Spurs are now aiming to do for Postecoglou.

Their domestic and European success also came after selling their best player, Philippe Coutinho, to Barcelona in 2018, offering Spurs hope that Harry Kane’s departure could prove the catalyst for a sustained period of winning.