Shutout Mentality: Practical Approach Proving as Key for The North London Club
Outscoring the opponents was the approach at Tottenham last season but now the emphasis is on stopping goals at the other end of the pitch.
Tuesday's narrow win against their European opponents in the team's Champions League debut was the fourth clean sheet they had kept in the first five games this season.
By comparison, they had kept just a single at the same stage of last term, when the more forward-thinking their previous manager was in control.
“We discussed a lot about 'clean sheet mentality' this year because we allowed a lot last year,” Spurs midfielder a key player stated.
Defender Van de Ven added: “I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Structure-wise we are standing really good and we all know what to do, so we're a difficult team to beat.”
The style of Spurs against the Yellow Submarine was in stark contrast to the attacking football played with Postecoglou.
They were much more cautious, even after being gifted a quick-fire opener thanks to a disastrous mistake by the opposition goalkeeper the shot-stopper.
Tighter Defensive Line but at an Goal-Scoring Cost?
The North Londoners have conceded just the one goal this season - in the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.
That is a significant improvement on how they started the previous campaign, when they let in multiple goals in their first five games.
In the English top flight they have kept three clean sheets already - meaning they are just two from equalling their total for the complete of last season.
The more reliable platform is perhaps coming at a cost, however, with their sole attempt on target against Villarreal the second occasion in their last three games they had produced very limited efforts on goal.
The head coach acknowledges this is an area that has to improve.
“We have a very good foundation to stand on in terms of our backline setup and I think it's effective and we gave very little away,” he said.
“We're playing in the UCL against a strong team. Also, I knew we took a step forward against the Hammers, offensively is the area we need to get better.”
