Spurs coach Wells reveals Postecoglou’s Ehiogu message against Villa

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou told his players they wanted to win on Ugo Ehiogu’s birthday this weekend.

Tracks battered Aston Villa in the second half to win their Premier League match 4-1 on Sunday.

Ehiogua former Premier League player, was coach at Spurs when he passed away on April 20, 2017.

Spurs assistant coach Matt Wells said: “So I spoke at the end of the team meeting on Saturday. It was a good opportunity to talk about Ugo, not least the timing of it as Sunday is his birthday and we’re up against Playing at Villa, the club he is most associated with as a player Middelsbrough.

“The gaffer gave me the chance to do it, so I put up a picture of the two of us sitting together in the academy restaurant at the time. We had the salty and pepper shakers out and we were planning our urgent strategy for a game against Chelsea. Jenny Stephens (our former assistant football secretary) came over and took the photo, the two of us sat at the table, salt and pepper set up 11 against 11!

“I told the boys what that photo symbolized and what it meant to me, and the whole timing of it, his birthday on Sunday. I didn’t link it to the game and say ‘let’s win it for Ugo’. It was just a way to bring everyone closer together with that family atmosphere, and I thought it was just an opportunity to show a little vulnerability because the guys don’t normally see that side of it.

“They only really know me as a coach and wouldn’t have known what I’ve been through and what I’m still going through and dealing with. Everyone can relate to it though because everyone has had people they loved and lost so there it was exactly about and my relationship now with Ugo’s wife Gemma and his son Obi. It was a nice moment and a privilege to be able to share that with them.

“Then before the game the gaffer said something at the end of his team talk that I didn’t know he was going to do, but then he put a picture of Ugo on the screen in the dressing room before the game which was really nice , and he talked a little bit about my talk and the pain that I went through and just tied it back to the team and how everyone can relate to that and the fact that it was Ugo’s birthday and, Again, not ‘let’s win for Ugo ‘, but more about the atmosphere of togetherness.

“I didn’t know he was going to mention it in his post-match interviews and then in the locker room. He surprised me a little bit, he came in and where he usually does his team talk, he stood up and said, ‘Wellsy, the word is yours,” and let me talk to the boys again.

“I couldn’t tell you what I said because I was quite emotional, so I just rambled on and thanked them all for the performance. It was a memorable day with the win and the performance and, for me, many emotional moments .” levels too. It was gaffer class.

“It was fun talking about it this week. It’s something I’ve struggled with, especially the nature of how everything happened, the trauma, I think, of witnessing it, being there. In a way it was quite cathartic.

“I got quite emotional but I said to the boys: it was also a privilege to be able to share memories of Ugo with them and I am happy that the performance and the victory made it a special occasion. It is certainly a day when I will remember it for a long time.”