Plenty of fans in the wider world of football were probably quite surprised when Tottenham Hotspur appointed former Celtic and Australia international gaffer, Ange Postecoglou, as their new manager over the summer, but he has arguably had a massive effect on the squad in his opening few months at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
On Saturday, they made the trip to Kenilworth Road to face promoted side Luton Town, and in picking up a 1-0 victory, they made it six wins and two draws from their opening eight matches, and although it is an educated guess to say it will only be temporary, they went into Sunday’s remaining Premier League fixtures sat in top spot on 20 points.
The victory over Luton was largely one sided for Spurs, but that is not to say it was not a pretty lacklustre and dull affair over all, as there were just not that many clear cut or guit chances at play, despite the large dominance the visitors had on the game.
The fans will certainly take a more ugly victory to keep their own form going this year though, and after the managerial lurching around that the club have done in recent years, Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo to Antonio Conte, it seems they finally have a manager in charge who knows exactly how he wants them to play, and importantly, knows how to get that out of the players in a disciplined way where success does not simply seem to involve ‘hope Harry Kane scores’.
The opening goal actually came after Spurs had been reduced to ten men when Yves Bissouma picked up a straight red card, and Dutch defender Micky van de Ven, opened his club account in the 52nd minute with James Maddison laying on the assist.
“On the way to the stadium on the bus Sonny (Son Heung-min) told me: ‘You’re going to score your first goal today’. I didn’t think so. I said: ‘Maybe, who knows.’ But it is perfect because now I have scored my first goal. I think we showed a great mentality as a team.”
Postecoglou was obviously delighted with the ‘character and resilience’ of his side as they kept his excellent start to life at the club going. His only complaint was that the score line was not higher, as simply put, their finishing on the day was well below par.
“We started really well but then you get the red card and it is a different type of game. We are really tight as a group, which you see because, not only are we winning games, but apart from the football which has been good, the resilience we have shown has been great. The players want to change the destiny of this football club and that is what they are trying to do on the pitch.”
Could Spurs go into the next international break still top of the pile?