Tottenham’s dressing room temper as Ange Postecoglou feels the warmth

Ange Postecoglou spent his summer holidaying in the sweltering Greek islands where temperatures can reach 86 degrees.

Back in north London, as autumn approaches and the air starts to cool, Postecoglou continues to feel the heat.

Four points from their opening four Premier League matches has made for an indifferent start for a Tottenham side that last season looked like they may challenge for the title.

First thing’s first, there is no hint the Australian is under any immediate danger of having the rug pulled from under him by a Tottenham board that, in the past, have shown a willingness to move managers on.

That is only right. Tottenham have played well, if not great, in all four of their matches thus far.

Indeed, members of the team believe their performances have offered an improvement on their opening four matches of last season – a run that saw them take 10 from a possible 12 points.

Postecoglou’s messaging to his players in recent days echoes the prevailing sense that ‘Angeball’ remains at the heart of the operation.

Steadfastly loyal to his footballing principles, Postecoglou has reiterated to his squad that they remain on the right path. That nothing changes. To remain calm.

There is, however, an acknowledgement that outside noise is starting to manifest. ‘No plan B, the defensive line is too high’ are becoming frequent accusations.

But, privately, Postecoglou is asking his players to trust him and – more pertinently – to ignore those who insist Angeball is failing.

A siege mentality, if you will – something this club knows all about following the managerial spells of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

Postecoglou, as a general rule, is at his desk by 8am – well in advance of his players’ arrival.

He remains at the club’s Enfield HQ well into the afternoon and long after most have clocked off.

That’s the path he chose, of course. It’s a path that has been riddled with frustrations in recent weeks.

They were ahead and in the ascendancy against Leicester only to lose their grip in the second half before comfortably beating Everton.

Spurs somehow contrived to throw away victory at Newcastle in a game they largely dominated.

Against Arsenal on Sunday they’d have been well within their rights to feel aggrieved leaving with nothing.

They’d accrued 64 percent of the ball, took 15 shots to Arsenal’s seven and had more touches in the penalty area than their arch-rivals.

But therein lies the quandary Postecoglou must find the answer to before the powers-that-be decide that rug may need sweeping away after all.

‘I think when you look at the four games, I think that you could summarise all four games in a very similar way of us, outperforming the opposition but not taking the critical moments in our favour and you pay a price for that,’ Postecoglou said on Tuesday.

The narrative surrounding why Spurs have stuttered centres largely around high lines and set pieces.

While Postecoglou has so far refused to employ a specialist dead ball coach, behind the scenes it is not true to say the former Celtic boss is neglecting the importance of set pieces.

Nick Montgomery arrived as an assistant coach in the summer, with the former Hibernian boss taking up the responsibility of working on attacking and defending set pieces at training.

Of course, Gabriel Magalhaes’ winner on Sunday, scored directly from Bukayo Saka’s corner, did little to quell the noise around Tottenham’s issue with defending dead ball situations and the concept that Postecoglou underestimates its importance.

But there is a confidence that Montgomery’s influence has improved the deficiencies that proved an Achilles heel to Postecoglou’s first season in charge.

Specifically, against Arsenal on Sunday, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s failure to to attack Saka’s cross, despite the delivery flying within six yards of his goal, contributed to Arsenal’s winner – although it is recognised that Cristian Romero switched off to allow Magalhaes what was effectively a free header.

Vicario is an impressive shot-stopper, while his ability in possession allows Postecloglou to implement the high-risk possession-based philosophy he swears by.

However, there is also an acknowledgement that his reluctance to attack crosses is a flaw that needs improving.

Tottenham are yet to replace former club captain Hugo Lloris, who left for LAFC in January, with a genuine No 2 goalkeeper who could realistically challenge Vicario.

Fraser Forster, 36, has been named on the Tottenham bench for three of their four league games so far this season. Forster hasn’t played a top-flight game since May 2023.

A goalkeeper was not viewed as a priority over the summer; and it must be stressed that Spurs don’t have a limitless pot of money.

And while Tottenham are satisfied with their summer recruitment, the failure to sign a goalkeeper to replace Lloris is under the spotlight.

The arrival of Dominic Solanke for a club record £65million saw Spurs secure one of their long-term targets. Ivan Toney was considered but the swoop for Solanke was universally approved.

Yet the one perceived glitch in the club’s summer recruitment operation was their failure to land the high-energy central midfielder Postecoglou yearned.

Conor Gallagher was the club’s primary target for the role and there was a confidence at Tottenham that they could take advantage of Chelsea’s race to comply with profit and sustainability rules (PSR) in their pursuit of the England international.

Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey was another Tottenham held a genuine interest in but it became abundantly clear the Midlands club were not interested in selling after overcoming their own PSR issues.

Gradually, what was viewed as a priority position at the start of the summer became less so as the window progressed.

The arrival of 18-year-old Archie Gray for a fee of £30m from Leeds diluted their push for a more experienced midfielder.

By all the accounts, the way Gray, who has made two substitute appearances so far, has settled into life at Tottenham has reinforced belief that their decision not to sign an established middle man will eventually be viewed as the right decision.

The additional arrival of Lucas Bergvall, 18, from Djurgaardens and Wilson Odobert from Burnley completed a very youthful first summer window under technical director Johan Lange, who arrived last October.

Lange’s data-led approach spawned a host of strategical changes in terms of how Tottenham identify their targets.

Youth and energy were viewed as key attributes during the previous window; with a focus on recruiting players who could handle the physical strains of Postecoglou’s relentless approach but also footballers hungry to adapt their own games to the Australian’s instructions.

The overhaul in the recruitment operation has certainly left a few noses out of joint.

David Pleat, who completed regular scouting missions for the club and someone who has historical connections with Tottenham, was relieved of his duties over the summer.

There are those who believe a role should have been found for Pleat to remain at the club.

Similarly Ian Broomfield, one of the club’s most senior scouts, was also part of a cull.

Sources have indicated that the club’s move to a data-led approach was a key reason behind Broomfield’s departure, while Mail Sport has also learned the fact he only covered matches with a certain radius from his north-west base was another factor that prompted the decision.

However, there is an opposing view that it was Spurs choice to limit Broomfield’s geographical scope, though that move is understood to have pre-dated Lange’s arrival.

On the pitch, though, there seems very little chance of Postecoglou altering his approach – particularly the non-negotiable high defensive line that has split opinion.

Despite their indifferent start, the stats suggest Postecoglou is right to trust the process; they’re producing more shooting opportunities, taking more touches in the opposing area and more passes in the final third.

As disappointing as any loss to Arsenal is to those on the white side of north London, there was elements of the derby performance that will go some way to convincing Postecoglou that his team are close to clicking.

James Maddison, for example, provided encouraging signs, particularly in the first-half, that he is inching towards form.

There was concern behind the scenes at Spurs over how Maddison would return to work after his heartbreaking omission from England’s Euro 2024 squad.

But while his performances so far haven’t necessarily met expectations, there is said to be a determination from Maddison to use the summer’s disappointment as fuel.

That sort of attitude will suit Postecoglou down to the ground if the Aussie is to prove that Angeball isn’t yesterday’s fad.