Ange Postecoglou has joked that he could channel the fictional detective Jack Reacher and "pummel people" in the hunt for a mole leaking information from inside Tottenham -- but says he already has a good idea of the culprit's identity.
Postecoglou vowed to root out a leaker in the camp after reports surfaced ahead on social media of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt that Wilson Odobert had been sent for a scan on a tight hamstring -- though the winger was an unused substitute in a 1-1 draw.
The Australian named Reacher, a burly ex-US military heavy known for his hands-on approach to dealing with bad guys, as a potential inspiration in the search.
Asked his detective of choice, Postecoglou said: "Reacher. Just get out the big bat and pummel people!
"There's always a bit of detective work in football management.
"I think it's a cultural thing," the Spurs head coach added. "I'm big on creating a culture of success and I don't think successful organisations behave in that manner."
Postecoglou described the leaks as "a bit of everything", meaning they were not just limited to medical information, and ruled out a player or one of their representatives being the mole.
"It's a simple process. You just look where the information goes and it's pretty easy to figure out," he said.
“It’s not agents. Definitely not agents. The stuff that is coming out is pretty specific. The language used is not used by agents, trust me.
"I’m not suspecting anybody. It’s definitely not the players because for me the information that is getting out is…
"Look, I’ve always said, especially with medical information, I’m really, really careful.
"Even though we’re in the world of football and I know everyone thinks these things should be carte blanche in terms of information flow, I’m still very respectful in terms of medical records and how much information we actually give on certain things.
"Sometimes players don’t want that information disclosed, it’s as simple as that.
"The fact that it is getting out is unacceptable, from a club perspective, because it doesn’t help us and from an individual’s perspective because it doesn’t help him.
"As a club, I just think, I’ve got enough challenges out there without adding more to ours.
“It’s been going on for a while. It started last year. We thought we had nipped it in the bud but it’s still consistently coming out at different times.
“You try to keep the circle of information pretty tight.
“I don’t understand why people would do it, especially if they’re, so-called, in our camp because I don’t know how it’s helpful to us.
“It certainly doesn’t seem to be helpful to us.
“Sometimes for us information is best kept in our closed doors because we have oppositions trying to analyse us and trying to see if they can get some extra information on us.
“There are various ways you can find these things out. You hope that people come to their senses after a while.
“But it just continues to happen. We’ll get to the bottom of it."
I'm big on creating a culture of success and I don't think successful organisations behave in that manner
Ange Postecoglou
Postecoglou said the mole, when discovered, would be dealt with "internally" but shook his head when asked if someone's time at the club was coming to an end.
"We’ll deal with it internally. Like you deal with anything. You do the right thing and deal with it," he said.
"It’s about trying to make us as a football club run as professionally as we possibly can in terms of information flow and how we conduct ourselves. I don’t think any organisation, if you have people giving out sensitive information, particularly on the medical front or the tactical front, then you need to address it.
"It’s always [an issue] in football," he added. "In various ways. But certainly not as consistent as this. Usually when you address it the first time, key people understand. But this one seems to be consistent."
Spurs visit fellow Premier League strugglers Wolves on Sunday with Postecoglou expected to make changes ahead of Thursday's decider against Frankfurt in Germany.
