One measure of Tottenham’s progress under Mauricio Pochettino is to contrast Gary Neville’s opinion of them now against his withering assessment 13 months ago.
As a TV pundit, a particularly catastrophic piece of defending against Newcastle, which saw a 1-0 scoreline become a 2-1 defeat led to a furious Neville saying: “It’s what I think of Tottenham historically, never ready, weak, weak up here.”
In his Daily Telegraph column this weekend, his opinion has dramatically altered.
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Neville wrote: “Ask me who I would model myself on as an aspiring coach right now and in a flash I would give you the name of Mauricio Pochettino… there is a transformation under way at Spurs.”
To expand on Neville’s original observation, the narrative surrounding Spurs has always been they are flash Londoners who lack the mental fortitude or necessary desire to truly trouble the elite.
In the Premier League years pre-Harry Redknapp, it’s surprising a club of their stature and resources had mustered just two top-six finishes.
Roy Keane recalled in his autobiography, ‘The Second Half’, that one Sir Alex Ferguson team-talk before playing Spurs was simply: “Lads, it’s Tottenham.”
But something feels different about this team. Pochettino appears to have, as Neville demanded last October, changed the culture of the club.
There is a stoicism about a side blessed with technically-gifted players but who looked brittle in the Argentine’s first season. They have the joint-second best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding 11 from 13 games; in 2014-15 they had the sixth worst, shipping more goals more than Sunderland and relegated Hull.
Personnel has changed with Toby Alderweireld signed to play alongside Belgian team-mate Jan Vertonghen in the heart of defence. Their chemistry obvious.
Of their 19 games in all competitions, Spurs have only conceded more than one goal on four occasions and are yet to let in more than two. That might not sound much but for a “weak” and “never ready” team, it’s a sizeable sea change and has enabled them to compete in every single contest.
But as well as organisation, an acquired mental toughness and improved fitness – as Neville also detailed – Pochettino’s coaching has had a marked effect on individuals drifting towards mediocrity.
Vertonghen, once one of the league’s best centre-backs, has awoken from his two-season slumber, Erik Lamela’s confidence is restored while Mousa Dembele is recapturing his best form of his first season in north London.
Pochettino’s work with younger players is also unparalleled in the current English game. As has been noted, from his time at Southampton and Spurs he is responsible for nine of England’s last 16 debutants. Harry Kane, Delle Alli, Ryan Mason and Eric Dier providing an identity in a Spurs squad seemingly continually in flux.
Having finished fifth in May, despite their flaws, the quest is now surely top four. And in an open league with no outstanding side, it is looking increasingly plausible.
With Pochettino describing Mourinho as the “best of the best” during his time at Espanyol, the result of Sunday’s match against Chelsea will be a yardstick for not just how far Spurs have come – facing an elite opponent seemingly in decline and there for the taking – but also the manager himself.
