James Maddison reveals what Ange Postecoglou said during the half-time interval on Sunday, which inspired Tottenham to blow Aston Villa out of the water in the second period.
The game followed the usual pattern
Tottenham have made it a habit of going a goal down at home before coming back to win resoundingly, and the same script unfolded against Villa.
Unai Emery’s men kept things tight in the first period, restricting Spurs to a few chances, but they were unable to cope with the home side’s intensity in the second-half and buckled under the pressure.
It was the sort of result that sent a clear message out to the rest of the Premier League and saw Tottenham move to within two points of fourth place.
Ange Postecoglou’s half-time message
Maddison explained that Postecoglou was extremely calm in the interval and insisted that Spurs could blow Villa away if they kept their heads and played their football.
The attacking midfielder pointed out that the Lilywhites have shown that they can put three or four goals past sides in quick succession if things click for them.
Maddison told The Mirror about the 4-1 win: “We turned the screw and they couldn’t live with our intensity. But that’s why the manager at half-time, he stayed so calm because he knows that we have got a chance to blow teams away in quick periods.
Even at 1-0 down, he’s just like, ‘Get your heads up’. We know we can go and score four goals in a half against any team because that is what we do with our intensity. Thankfully that’s exactly what we did. And we blew them away.”
Reason for Spurs’ improved second-half displays
It is certainly not a coincidence that Tottenham‘s record in the second half of matches is considerably better than their record in the first 45 minutes.
While opposition teams are able to close down the space and prevent Spurs from having too much joy for 45 minutes, they are unable to match the North London side’s intensity for 90 minutes and eventually buckle in the latter stage of matches.
That is exactly what happened to Villa, with three of Tottenham’s four goals coming in the 75th minute or later.
Postecoglou is happy with how many games Spurs play
Last season, Postecoglou had the luxury, if you will, of having his attention almost exclusively on the Premier League, with Spurs not competing in Europe and bowing out of the domestic cups early on.
This season, though, Tottenham are competing across four fronts, and intend to do so for the long haul. Postecoglou’s side have made a good start to their Europa League campaign, are through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, and are climbing the league table.
But, with all those games coming in thick and fast, some managers may feel overwhelmed or frustrated by the demanding fixture list. Not Ange Postecoglou, though.
Speaking to Sky Sports about the relentless nature of the schedule, he said: “I do love it. I don’t know about the players; I think maybe a couple of them are looking for a bit of a break, but I think it’s good because I think it helps us two-fold.
“One is that you really need to live in the moment and look ahead. We had a disappointing day against Crystal Palace, and I think the fact that we had City literally three days later means you can’t feel sorry for yourself, you can’t walk around all woe is me. You’ve got to say, well, we’ve got a big game Wednesday night, so let’s get up for it. So I think it helps you in that respect.”
Squad rotation makes everything easier
Postecoglou also touched on the fact that he is getting to use more players more regularly this season, and how that is helping the team.
“You know, we made, I think, five or six change Wednesday night, but the guys coming in and played a week ago,” he added. “That wasn’t the case last year, where I always felt that if we did get injuries, I was putting in guys who hadn’t played for quite a few weeks, and it was really disruptive for us. So, yeah, look, I much prefer it this way.”
Spurs fans want the club to compete all season
Yes, the amount of games Tottenham have to play this season is intense, but surely no one would want it any other way really. The more games they play, that means they are progressing through the competitions, and that’s something this club desperately need. It will all be worth it when there’s a trophy at the end of it.
