Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou has signalled his team are firmly focused on a top four finish after a thumping 4-1 victory over Champions League rivals Aston Villa.
Only a week after Tottenham went down to Crystal Palace in their last Premier League fixture, their win over Unai Emery’s men marked a crucial return to form.
Spurs also beat red-hot Manchester City in the EFL Cup midweek, and the Australian coach likened his own focus to that of a racehorse with blinkers in a timely comment amid Melbourne Cup week.
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Villa were the team to pip Tottenham to the post and win fourth place last season, but this year Postecoglou is confident Spurs can slot into the Champions League spots.
“I don’t spend too much time thinking about it, but this year there is probably more congestion in terms of the field itself, so we will have to deal with it,” he said.
“While we’re running in the race, I don’t like looking either side of me. I keep saying to the players, if I was a racehorse, and I’m not, it would be one with blinkers.
“I’m just looking at the finish line. I think that’s right, I don’t know much about horse racing, but we have to stay true to the course we’re on.
“Seven days ago I was a grumpy old so-and-so, but we made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and get back to being the team we want to be.”
He also hailed his team’s ability to bounce back after their loss to Crystal Palace, with a first half Jean-Philippe Mateta strike sealing their win.
“You don’t fall off cliffs and you don’t climb mountains within a week,” Postecoglou said.
“It’s all part of the same process for me. We’re going to have bumps along the way. It’s how you address them, how you cope with them, how you rebound and learn from them.
“There was no point feeling sorry for ourselves, we had to come in and get our heads straight and work back to the team we wanted to be… we still need to get better and keep pushing.”
Meanwhile, South Korean superstar Heung-min Son was taken off in the 56th minute, and he was visibly frustrated whilst sitting on the bench.
It was the Tottenham gun’s first appearance since mid-October, having sat out with a thigh injury in recent weeks.
While he spent limited minutes on the field, Son was still able to have a huge impact, delivering a pinpoint cross to find Brennan Johnson to level the scores.
“He was never going to play more than that today,” Postecoglou said when asked why Son was pulled from the field.
“He’d had an injury, and he came back it was around the 60th minute last time where he kind of got fatigued last time. So he was never going to play more than 50 or 60 minutes.
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“Again, we’ve got more battles ahead and we need him… No, I didn’t see any difference in Sonny. I’d be surprised if any player likes coming off when they’re feeling all right.
‘I didn’t need to discuss it with him. What’s more important is the overall picture.”
Postecoglou was also full of praise for striker Dominic Solanke, with the former Bournemouth man scoring a brace in what was his most complete performance as a Tottenham player.
He’d not scored since late September, but was able to deliver a smart finish over Villa glovemen Emiliano Martinez before finishing a Richarlison cross.
“I just think the enormous effort he put in on Wednesday night (against Manchester City) to help us win a game of football, not just physically but mentally and his capacity to help the team in every way he can,” Postecoglou said.
“To back that up today with such a massive effort again against a pretty difficult team to play against in that sense, it’s just unbelievable.
“Yes, the goals are great and of course as a striker I am sure he loves the fact he can score a couple of goals, but even if he didn’t, I can’t speak highly enough of what he is contributing to our team at the moment.”
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