Postecoglou said: "I think with everything that's happened, if I give myself that luxury of trying to reflect when there's still 12 games to go, I am super proud of the club, the players in particular, have responded to the adversity we've had this year," he said. "New manager coming in, new way of playing, new staff, squad changing over and we've had some real challenges, including losing Harry Kane two days before the first game, and I could envisage many scenarios where that could go very, very differently.
"With the way that we as a football club and the players took on that challenge, if you are looking for a bit of leeway or some excuses, we've had plenty this year for us not to be in the position we are. We've had some pretty big injuries, pretty big absences, international tournaments and I've been so proud of the competitiveness of the players we've put out there every week. Even in games we've lost, we've been in them and we've not been blown away by anybody.
"I think if we had gone the other way, downplayed our expectations, downplayed any progress for this year, then I don't think we would have got as much out of the year as I think we have. I think we've set a really strong benchmark for competitiveness and not having any excuses for what we do now, moving forward. If we continue to grow then I think there will be other challenges - not the challenges we've had this year - but we can continue to refer back to this year and say 'look, through the whole time, we never once laid down and we were fighting all the way'."