“The J-League standard is strong and (Yokohama) haven’t won anything for a while. As a manager, they’re the sort of things that excite you.

“I spoke to representatives of Yokohama and it seemed like a good fit, and after a couple of chats it happened pretty quickly.”

While, to an extent, Postecoglou’s surliness remains – he’s never made any apologies for his lack of ‘cuddliness’ – he realises he may be perfectly suited to Japanese football, and his chosen club.  

“It’s unchartered territory in a global sense, what (the City Football Group) is trying to achieve. Having spent some time here, there are major advantages – the more detailed work that’s done here, that in club football is (usually) impossible because it’s week to week.

“Having a body that’s looking back on a broad sense to give information to you…is just a tremendous advantage.

“The advantage is that I’m starting in pre-season, I can explain to the players the journey we’re going to head off on. There’s not a great deal of work to be done in terms of bringing in new players. The main thing is explaining the kind of football we want to play.

“We want to be aggressive, even in the way we defend. My job is to get the players to believe in the football we want to play.

“I’ve had success so far playing in that way. I haven’t set targets because they’re almost limitations; I always start on the basis that I want my teams to play a certain way.”

While Ange is nothing if not reserved, behind the seemingly impenetrable tone, his words contain every reason for Yokohama fans to be excited.

The Marinos have a prodigious academy and proud traditions, yet haven’t won the J-League since 2004. It’s a privileged setup reaching all the way from Melbourne to Manchester, but the Yokohama piece of the puzzle is low on inspiration, and begging for rejuvenation.