Son, who is known for his friendly and respectful nature, stood up to some of his younger South Korean teammates when they were not paying attention at a team dinner during the Asian Cup.
Despite his injury, Son will still play against Wolves on Saturday, which Postecoglu sees as a sign of his commitment and high standards. The Spurs boss said: “Sonny by nature is a nice guy. He is very polite and very respectful. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a real winner and a guy who has high standards.” He added that it’s great to have Son back with the team and that the incident shows his leadership skills.
“Leadership is not about being popular and trying to make everybody happy, it’s about when you see something that you don’t feel is right then you stand up for it because it’s the best thing for the group.
“I see that in Sonny. Sometimes people are mistaken about Sonny because he’s such a positive guy who whenever you see him is smiling and everyone has a real affection for him – but he wants to win.
“He doesn’t like standards slipping and I’ve seen him do that around here. If something is not right he will say it. Sometimes it is not the popular thing to do.
“Sometimes that puts you in the firing line with the playing group, and with coaches or the club. But as a leader if you think this is the right thing to do then you should go strongly on it.”
Tottenham’s strong season has put Postecoglu’s name in the frame to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. But asked about reports he is on their shortlist, Postecoglu said: “If it’s just people throwing up names, then who cares? Like, seriously?
“At the end of the day, if I’m doing a good job then hopefully people will acknowledge that in one form or another – whatever that form is. But so-called ‘chat’, that’s of no interest to me. I have only been here seven months. I may be on a shortlist.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to enter my brain space for what is my priorities in life and profession right now.”
