It was not a particularly eye-catching victory for Tottenham but what was noticeable were the various Antonio Conte traits on display.
The postponement of the Burnley match looks to have been a blessing in disguise as the Italian got an extra couple of training sessions on the Hotspur Way pitches.
“We were disappointed because we wanted to play [on Sunday] but the Premier League made the best decision to save the players and for the fans,” said Conte.
“But in the other hand, to have the possibility to have a training session was important, because we worked together.
“We worked on the physical aspect and tactical aspect and it was very, very important for us.
“I have to be honest to tell you that we exploited this situation. Every single moment we have, we have to exploit and try to improve and try to bring my philosophy into the mind of all my players.”
That philosophy was more on display on Thursday night than it has been thus far during the 52-year-old’s early weeks in charge as he extended his unbeaten start in the Premier League with the north London club to take them into sixth place and two points off fourth-placed West Ham with that postponed game in hand.
There was decisive wing-back play for Spurs down the left, more organised defending on the whole and a clean sheet to boot, more of an attacking thrust with 11 shots taken and six on target, plus plenty of pressing and desire.
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Conte himself continues to be an example of perpetual motion on the sideline and at one point fourth official Graham Scott mimed a fisherman trying to reel in his catch as the Italian charged down the touchline out of his technical area following one dangerous Brentford attack.
The Spurs boss was constantly instructing and coaching from the sidelines and he wants more on and off the ball from his players.
The home side’s win was rarely in doubt but they actually had less possession than Brentford – 47 per cent to the visitors’ 53.
“We fight to win the tackles and we were very, very concentrated. For sure we can improve. We have a lot of space for improvement in possession,” admitted Conte after the game.
“Without the ball I think we did very well. We put pressure from the start until the end. I want to see this without the ball, to press the ball and make it difficult for the opponents to play the ball.
“For sure we have to continue to work and to improve in many aspects.”
Work down the wings brought about both goals. First wing-back Sergio Reguilon’s run down the left was almost picked out by a curling pass from Eric Dier only for the ball to be cleared behind for a corner.
From that resulting flag kick, the ball came short and Son Heung-min caused chaos with a cross from the left as Brentford captain Pontus Jansson headed the ball against Sergi Canos under pressure from Ben Davies and the ball ricocheted back into the net.
Then for Tottenham’s second, Reguilon was again involved as Harry Kane sent him clear and the speedy Spaniard pulled the ball back perfectly into the centre for Son to fire home into the unguarded net.
It was not a perfect night. Kane showed glimpses of what he can bring and is working hard for Conte but he’s still not yet the Kane of old.
The two Brazilians down the right – Lucas Moura and Emerson Royal – covered plenty of ground but lacked the quality when it mattered in situations at both ends.
Lucas in particular continues to have the lowest pass accuracy percentage of anyone on the pitch. While he has plenty of drive and speed and that excites the fans, but his pass success rate of just 53.6 per cent was the lowest on the pitch by a long, long way and too many Spurs attacks would end at his feet.
Only goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (35) had less touches of the ball among the Spurs players than Lucas Moura’s 38. When the Brazilian is able to use the ball well and get involved he’s so dangerous, but this was not one of those nights.
At the back Davinson Sanchez had more shaky moments after his sticky night in Slovenia and the Conte defence is not yet entirely settled.
At one point, Sanchez and Lucas could be seen arguing with each other after failing to stop a Brentford attack down the right, while Emerson was struggling to get back down the pitch after a blow to the face.
However, a clean sheet was gained and Lloris was rarely tested, other than having to make some confident punches.
Son was also more like his dangerous, all action self, causing chaos with his dribbling and crossing as well as sprinting back to help out in defensive situations.
What should excite the Tottenham fans more than anything are Conte’s confident statements about how he can improve the team.
On Thursday night, he not only applied that to Oliver Skipp and his high ceiling but also the team’s attacking ability.
For Skipp, he was voted man of the match yet Conte was only looking at what he will teach him to do in the future.
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For a 21-year-old, lauded as a future Spurs captain by Jose Mourinho and praised hugely by Nuno Espirito Santo, to have been earmarked by one of the world’s best current coaches for the very top, it’s another huge pat on the back on his journey.
What was different about Conte’s words though was that they focused on exactly what he still needs to do and what he must improve on to become one of the best.
“Skippy played a really good game in the same way with the other team-mates,” the Tottenham head coach told football.london.
“I think this player is a very young. He has really a lot of space for improvement. He played with great intensity, great passion, with heart, with soul. I think it was important because for me he doesn’t care if he’s only 21-years-old, who deserves to play.
“Today he played well. I think that I can improve him a lot in possession and technically, to look before the play that they have to do. We’re talking about an important prospect and I’m very happy for him, but now he has to continue in this way.”
Skipp was everywhere on Thursday night, breaking up Brentford attacks and setting Tottenham quickly on their way each time. He should have had an assist with a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Kane who was denied by the goalkeeper.
Conte saw plenty to cheer him and he made it clear that Skipp and Hojbjerg is a pairing he really likes, but he wants even more from the England U21 international when in possession.
“For sure [he was getting into advanced areas] and he has to improve with the ball, no?” said the Italian.
“In possession. This player, without the ball, he works very, very hard. To have him in the midfield together with Hobby is very, very important.
“For sure, the part that he has to improve is with the ball but in one month I have seen a lot of improvement about Skippy. He’s a player who wants to improve.
“I think that the present and the future depends on him. If he wants to become a top midfielder, he could become a top midfielder, but he has to continue to work.
“He has this will, this desire to become an important player for Tottenham and for the present and for the future.”
This confidence in his ability to improve the Spurs players, without a flicker of doubt, should encourage the fans.
He has pinpointed the team’s weaknesses in his first few weeks and he revealed on Thursday night that the attacking training at Hotspur Way has centred around creating chances when space is tight, something Spurs have struggled with enormously in recent seasons and this campaign in particular.
He correctly pointed out that on the break and surging up the pitch, these Tottenham players are perfectly suited to playing with that space in front of them. Without it, they can be a very different, muted side.
“I think that we have to be good in both situations. When we have space, in this case, I think this team is very good because in front we have players with quality but at the same time, fast players. Very good at exploiting the space,” explained Conte.
“At the other end, we have to try to improve when we don’t find the space to move the ball better, to find the right solution, because during the training session, we’ll have a session to find the right solution in both situations.
“With space and without space, this team has the characteristics to exploit this situation. Without space, we have to improve, but for the second goal our players showed great quality and Harry made a fantastic play to send Sergio and then Sergio made a fantastic ball for Son.”
There is little to time to take a breath with Norwich the visitors on Sunday but this past week will have been an unexpectedly full one for Conte to get to work.
It looks to be paying dividends and if the Italian’s confident statements are anything to go by, it’s only going to get better.
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