Tottenham Hotspur’s chairman Daniel Levy has openly admitted that hiring former managers Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were a “mistake.”

He expressed the club’s need to return to its core values, while showing support for new manager Ange Postecoglou.

Conte’s departure earlier this year marked the exit of the second serial-winning manager from the North London side in just over three years, following Mourinho’s dismissal two years ago.

Mourinho had replaced the highly regarded Mauricio Pochettino, further intensifying scrutiny on Levy, who has faced criticism from fans for the club’s absence from silverware since 2008.

Sharing his perspective at a fan forum, Levy said, “I want to win just as much as everybody else. The frustration of not winning and the pressure from maybe some players and a large element of the fan base that we need to win, we need to spend money, we need to have a big manager, a big name. And it affected me.”

Pochettino, now managing Chelsea, was let go in 2019, merely five months after guiding Spurs to the Champions League final. Levy reflected on this period, saying, “I had gone through a period where we’d almost won. With Mauricio, we went through some very, very good times. We didn’t quite get there, but we came very close, and we had a change of strategy.”

He continued, “The strategy was, let’s bring in a trophy manager, and we did it twice. You have to learn by the mistakes.”

Levy believes that the club has rediscovered its essence with the appointment of Ange Postecoglou.

Under Postecoglou’s leadership, Spurs have experienced their most promising start to a league season in 57 years, currently occupying the second spot in the table with 13 points in five matches, just two points behind treble winners Manchester City.

Looking ahead, Tottenham is set to face London rivals Arsenal on Sunday before hosting third-placed Liverpool on September 30th.

Levy acknowledged the managerial prowess of Mourinho and Conte but noted, “They (Mourinho and Conte) are great managers, but maybe not for this club. We want to play a certain way for what we want, and if that means it has to take a little bit longer to win, maybe it’s the right thing for us.”

He concluded; “And that’s why bringing Ange in was, from my viewpoint, exactly the right decision.”