Ange Postecoglou says players want to change club’s destiny after best league start since 1960
Tottenham have registered 20 points from their opening eight Premier League games this season (W6 D2), only in 1960-61 (21 points in first seven games converting to three points/win) have they done so in fewer games to begin a top-flight campaign
Micky van de Ven’s first goal in English football fired 10-man Tottenham to the Premier League summit with a 1-0 win at Luton – and manager Ange Postecoglou claimed his players are fully focused on “changing the destiny of the club”.
Spurs entered this fixture following a controversial 2-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend, where Jurgen Klopp’s side were denied a legitimate goal due to a “significant human error” by VAR operator Darren England.
It meant three points for Postecoglou’s team at Kenilworth Road would send them to the summit for at least 24 hours, but they had to work hard for it after Yves Bissouma was sent off in first-half stoppage-time.
Bissouma was booked twice in quick succession by referee John Brooks, the second for simulation, but Van de Ven’s close-range finish in the 52nd minute earned Tottenham a hard-fought win.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the narrow victory, Postecoglou said: “I don’t think it is fair to compare to last season, and speak about what happened then. It is all credit to the players, the way they have bought into what we are trying to do.
“We are really tight as a group, which you see because not only are we winning games but apart from the football which has been good, the resilience we have shown has been great.
The clean sheet will have pleased Postecolgou
Image: The clean sheet will have pleased Postecolgou
“The players want to change the destiny of this club and that is what they are trying to do on the pitch.
“I thought we needed a little more control. Pierre [Hoijberg] is an experienced player in the middle, and I thought we would still be a threat with Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] and Sonny up front.
“They put some balls in the box that we had to deal with, but he [Hojbjerg] was excellent in there keeping the ball away from our goal.”
This was the first meeting between the clubs since 1992 and the hostile atmosphere was a throwback to that era with even TNT pundits Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch booed ahead of kick-off.
Spurs had put seven goals past the other newly-promoted teams this season and should have added to that tally inside 10 minutes.
Richarlison was guilty of fluffing his lines twice, firing off target via his shin with the goal at his mercy from Kulusevski’s third-minute cross before Thomas Kaminski denied the Brazilian with his feet following James Maddison’s slick through ball 60 seconds later.
When Bissouma was rightly sent off on the stroke of half-time, it looked like everything was conspiring against Tottenham. But, as previously seen on several occasions this season, Postecoglou’s players dug out a result.
Speaking later in his press conference, the Australian added: “I’ve said from day one, I like winning. I love it. I get the team to play the way I want and try to create an environment that breeds success.
“I’ve gone into this with an open mind, and the results have been there so far, but it doesn’t change where I think we are in terms of our growth. I don’t get driven by the results at this early stage. Everyone we recruited in the summer has had a big impact which has helped, but we have to keep getting that right.”
