The 2023/24 season has been a memorable one for Tottenham fans so far following an outstanding start under new head coach Ange Postecoglou. Currently unbeaten in their first eight games of the league campaign, Spurs go into the second international break of the term top of the table.
It has been a remarkable opening from the Lilywhites and the hope is that they will be able to maintain their position at the summit of the league over the coming weeks once domestic football resumes. The best thing about Spurs’ start to the new season is that there is still much more to come from Postecoglou’s side as he looks to fully implement his football philosophy on his squad.
Having taken a look back at what the opposition had to say about Tottenham prior to September’s international break, we have decided to do the same for the four games played before the latest pause in play. So what exactly has been said? football.london takes a look below.
Paul Heckingbottom on Tottenham
“I’ve enjoyed watching them at the start of the season, it has been good and probably only really understanding what they’re trying to do when you watch them to play against them. It has been good,” he said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sheffield United’s game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.
“It has been interesting having a good look at what they’re doing and how they’ve been going about their work. They’ve got some undoubted threats, so we’re going to see that and we can’t go there hoping they’re going to underperform, we’ve got to go there expecting them to show all that quality and show the threats.
“They’ve got players who haven’t been quiet in any of the games this season so we know it’s going to be tough in that respect but I’d like to think that we can cause them problems as well.”
Mikel Arteta on Tottenham
“A new challenge, a new opportunity,” said the Spaniard in his pre-match press conference. “Obviously, they have a new manager that has done really, really well. He has changed the vibe and everything around the club. Different style, as well. Adapt to that, be ourselves and produce the performance we need to beat them.”
He added: “[Kane] was the one that glued everything together and he did it in many different ways from many different areas of the pitch. Now it’s a bit different. I think they have a different style from the last two coaches as well there for sure. They have some specificity in some movements that they make with certain players, so I think it’s a very different team.”
Arteta on Ange Postecoglou
“I really like him. I had players and I know players who had him and they always speak really, really highly of him. Obviously that is not a coincidence,” he explained.
“You can tell straight away that he is fitting in right away. That is the beauty of this league we have top, top managers, top competition and every game is very difficult.”
Arteta on if Tottenham will be title contenders
“I think they are a really good side,” admitted the Arsenal boss. “They are really well coached. You can feel the spirit in the team, the energy in them, but I think six games is too early for everybody to discuss where we’ll be.”
Jurgen Klopp on Ange Postecoglou
“Tottenham are doing really well, Ange seems to be a top bloke,” stated the German ahead of Liverpool’s trip to N17. “No [I’ve not met him] yet. But I’m looking forward to meeting him. I’m pretty sure everyone knew already when you saw Celtic playing in recent years.
“What kind of coach he is and who he is as a coach coming out to Tottenham where I think they were all desperate for some offensive football and he’s delivering that obviously. In a year where Harry Kane left the club, he’s doing extremely well. They’re a well set up team. It’s exciting to watch so yes, it will be a real test for both of us.”
Klopp on Tottenham
“Tottenham, in recent years, it was always that you played against the best counter-attacking team in the world,” revealed the Liverpool boss. “It was unbelievable what they set up there. If you lost a ball wherever, the next ball would find Kane and Kane will find Son and they will end up in a one-on-one with the goalie and it was pretty much not to defend.
“Now it is much more possession-based, it is much more based on own ideas, creative ideas and stuff like this. In the analysis we saw they have real quality but they will have found things where we are not perfect and we have found things where they were not perfect.
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