nearly anything. We handled it really well tonight, in my opinion. The squad is quite skilled on defense, so it’s a challenging field, and I knew going into the game that we wouldn’t have a lot of opportunities or an open game.
I thought the boys handled it extremely well; they were calm and persistent in trying to identify the gaps in our communication, and once we had the upper hand in the game, they shown true calmness.
Although there was undoubtedly some drama at the end, I felt the guys handled it quite well tonight. We had a new challenge for the evening, and I thought our approach was excellent.
Does Brennan Johnson coming off the bench and getting an assist minutes after coming on show exactly why you wanted to bring him to the club in the summer?
Yes, Brennan was excellent. We haven’t really seen him in any continuous game or training time since he’s had a few setbacks, so he’s had to exercise patience. However, during the past two weeks, he has put in a lot of effort in his training.
I believed that every substitute that appeared…Emerson was excellent at left back, and Pierre, in my opinion, helped us gain control of the midfield. The people coming on and helping us see out games is exactly the kind of thing that is helping us right now.
You said on TV a few minutes ago ‘let the fans’ dream’ as they’ve had a hard time of it in recent years. Any chance of it lasting another six months?
Dreams last as long as they do until someone wakes you up. We’ll just see.
What does it do for the belief in the players when they’re top of the league and getting these results?
While the top of the table and the outcomes are excellent, the real issue is more with how we’re doing it. There have been a variety of obstacles for us to conquer almost since the beginning of the game. Each time the group has dealt with that, there has been a genuine focus and coolness about it. It has been a really satisfying experience, and since they are benefiting from it, we have the chance to quicken the process of providing them with additional resources to assist them in overcoming any obstacles we face.
As I mentioned before, I anticipated that this would be a really challenging game for us to play here tonight.The boys had to deal with the notion that we weren’t going to create as many chances as we had been given Palace’s performance last week. It’s a tight field; they had only given up three goals in the four games played thus far. I thought our group’s approach to solving issue was excellent.
How do you keep the players’ feet on the ground?
There doesn’t seem to be anyone kind of drifting around here. They come in every day and observe the same thing, so there’s no need for them to feel that way. They perceive a setting in which they are aware that training will be challenging, competitive, and that all they can think about is putting in their best effort each day to ensure that they continue to push themselves and one another to reach our goals.
If you consider that, you most likely have the wrong kind of individuals living in your building, in my opinion. That’s not what I sense about this bunch. This group demands that I, the coaching team, and every employee continue to put in a lot of effort and keep becoming better. I don’t see why that wouldn’t carry on.
Enjoy being top, shut it out?
As I believe I stated during the press conference, you wouldn’t perceive me any differently. It’s something I enjoy doing every day, and I want the gamers to too. Not because we’re winning, but because we’re having the time of our lives, my friend.
We get to play for a great football team, do what we love, and the rest is about upholding the duty that has been placed upon us. What matters to me is that we are instilling happiness, faith, and hope in our supporters. That is the purpose of football teams. We must continue to support that.
How pleased are you with the connection with fans?
To be fair, I believe the connection has existed from the beginning. The fans have been behind this bunch of players since the first game, and again, I believe the results are fantastic and we’re in a terrific position on the table, but they seem to like what they’re seeing. They recognize that the guys who play for their football team sacrifice everything for it.They put in a lot of work every day, and their supporters get to see the finished product.
As a team and as a collection of players, it is not just about our football; it is also about our mindset and goals. That’s what I believe the supporters want to see in their Tottenham team, a bunch of players that are fully dedicated to their cause and embody all the ideals they want to see in their football team. The fact that we are winning as well, of course, is what really makes it unique since the table is really in our favor and the outcomes are what matter most.
How impressed are you with way the players are finding solutions on the pitch, they were all animated in tunnel at half-time?
Well, I am at a loss on what to do. I can’t just run over there and assist them, for sure. The players are the focus. That’s how I’ve always felt. Playoffs are all about the players. Every day, we make an effort to provide them with the resources they need to solve the problems. I’ve previously used the analogy that, even if we prepare students for their exam over the weekend, we never know what questions they will have. They must resolve them on their own.
You don’t ask for assistance from anyone throughout an exam. The best course of action is for them to say, “Okay, we know how to handle this, we’ll work our way because we’ve spoken about it or worked on it,” and that’s what we’re hoping we’ve given them—the tools to solve the problem on their own. The players are taking ownership of the situation, so they don’t need to turn to me or the bench for guidance on how to proceed. Hopefully, during the week, we’ve given them that.