Clean Sheet Mentality: Pragmatism Emerging as Vital for Spurs
Outscoring the rivals was the strategy at Spurs last campaign but now the emphasis is on stopping goals at the other end of the field.
Tuesday's narrow win over the Spanish side in the team's Champions League first match was the fourth clean sheet they had secured in their opening five games this season.
Conversely, they had kept just one solitary at the comparable stage of last campaign, when the more offensive their previous manager was in control.
“We discussed a lot about 'shutout mentality' this year because we conceded 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, definitely. Organisationally we are positioned really good and we all know what to do, so we're a hard team to beat.”
The approach of Spurs against Villarreal was in clear contrast to the attacking football played during Postecoglou.
They were much more defensive, even after being presented a early opener thanks to a calamitous mistake by Villarreal goalkeeper the shot-stopper.
Tighter Defensive Line but at an Offensive Cost?
Spurs have conceded a single goal this season - in the narrow loss to the Cherries.
That is a significant improvement on how they began the last campaign, when they allowed five in their first five games.
In the domestic league they have kept three clean sheets already - meaning they are just two away from matching their total for the entire of last season.
The more stable platform is perhaps coming at a cost, however, with their one shot on target against the La Liga side the another instance in their last three games they had managed very limited efforts on goal.
The head coach recognizes this is an area that has to improve.
“We have a very good platform to stand on in terms of our backline setup and I think it's good and we gave little away,” he said.
“We're playing in the UCL against a strong team. Additionally, I knew we took a positive step against their London rivals, going forward is the area we need to get better.”
