Young managers like Norwich City's Thorup know how to hit right notes

The acerbic Australian, 59, raised eyebrows after Sunday’s North London derby day defeat against Arsenal when spikily insisting to a Sky Sports reporter that he ‘always wins’ trophies in his second year at a club.

That comment, coupled with his unsavoury and largely hostile tone throughout the interview, have led to many questioning whether ‘Angeball’ is on its last legs and the former Celtic boss is feeling the heat in the Tottenham Hotspur hotseat.

A year shy of his seventh decade, Postecoglou is the oldest current manager in the Premier League.

A decade ago, that sort of age was commonplace in both the top-flight and Championship as the older-school, iron fist-ruling likes of Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Tony Pulis patrolled touchlines up and down the country.

But as Postecoglou gets increasingly tetchy while his Spurs players continue to misfire – Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup win against Coventry was extremely fortuitous – it’s clear that a new demographic of manager is on the rise.

Of course, this trend has been happening for some time as clubs – much like Norwich City in 2017 when we gambled on a 40-year-old Daniel Farke – opt for younger, ambitious managers usually prone to playing more free-flowing, fearless and possession-based football.

But as the average age of managers continues to plummet, could this be the season where the widespread transition to trendier, articulate and arguably laidback young managers emerges most prominently?

We have one of our own in Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Obviously, Postecoglou did not snap at the reporter and appears increasingly flustered because of his age.

But it is interesting to note that many of these younger managers on the rise, like Thorup, 35, new Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler, 31, and dare I say it, Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, 38, are all remarkably assured when facing the media and look the real deal when it comes to both on and off the pitch.

Despite a relatively slow start results-wise – although we are all aware this new project will take time – Thorup has struck all the right notes throughout his first few months at Carrow Road and come across as a genuinely likeable, eloquent and often amusing character at his pre and post-match press conferences.

And more broadly, the level of access the dynamic Dane has granted official club channels significantly precedes any of his predecessors, with a camera on the touchline at Coventry filming his every move and him even allowing one in the dressing room to film his team talk ahead of the home clash against Sheffield United.

After the ultimately failed tenures of both Dean Smith and David Wagner – aged 53 and 52 respectively and therefore, firmly in the traditional bracket of managers – Thorup has injected a breath of fresh air at Carrow Road and saying all the things fans want to hear as we embark on this bold new era.

On the touchline, in front of the media and around the club more broadly – insight enabled by his openness to facilitate video content for official club channels – the savvy Scandinavian looks properly the part and surely fills all of us with confidence he can get the good times back rolling at Carrow Road.

History tells us City are a club perhaps best-suited to younger, ambitious managers on the rise – think Farke, Paul Lambert, Alex Neil and Nigel Worthington rather than Smith, Wagner and Chris Hughton – and while the results may be yet to come, Thorup looks to be cut firmly from that cloth.

Of course, there probably still remains a place for older managers and as the recent likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp – who like Postecoglou, have never been renowned for their ice-cool temperament with the press – suggest, it’s clear they can still deliver success.

But on a week where Postecoglou arguably showed his age and more old-school, traditional and spiky managerial colours, it feels as though City fans can consider themselves lucky to have a coach like Thorup at the wheel.