5 Issues Tottenham Hotspur Need to Work on During International Break
Tottenham Hotspur supporters need not worry about head coach Mauricio Pochettino relaxing too much during the international break.
The Argentinian will be well aware there is still plenty of work that can be done, even with so many first-team players away with their national sides. He made that much clear following the last interruption.
"Because we have time to analyse in the two weeks, I think that we watched more than 20 times, the game, and every single detail we analyse," Pochettino told a press conference a fortnight after Tottenham's 3-0 loss to Liverpool. "We are a team that need to learn, need to improve."
Spurs are coming off a more positive performance in the form of Sunday's 1-0 win over Southampton. Nonetheless, there are certainly things they can work on.
Some will appeal to Pochettino's attention to detail, others are more general. Here are five such issues.
Press conference quote obtained firsthand.
Get Ready for the Champions
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Tottenham captain Younes Kaboul made no secret of how important he thought his side's win over Southampton was.
"We are delighted because of two things; firstly we’ve now got two weeks to prepare for Man City away and it’s always good to win before the international break which we didn’t against Liverpool and it killed us a little bit mentally," Kaboul told Tottenham's official website.
"The second thing is that we were 12th before kick-off but now we’re sixth so we’re happy about that."
The latter is important. No win since August and a bottom-half position in the table would have added extra pressure to an already daunting trip to take on Manchester City.
As Kaboul also noted, it could prove helpful to have that extra week to prepare for the champions. Certainly in regards to strategy (more on which on the following pages), but also mentally too.
There is no guarantee the extra time will make a positive difference. Spurs faced Man City away after an international break last year and lost 6-0.
It is us up to the coaching staff and players to make of it what they can.
Ideally, by the time those on national-team duty return, they will be fired up and focused about every detail about taking on City. Those coming back only a few days before can feed on that positive energy.
Continue to Work on Keeping the Defence Focused
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Even with the right frame of mind, Tottenham will do well to beat Manchester City on their home turf. It can be done, though, as proved by Stoke City's 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium in August.
That was a victory partly founded on Stoke's solidity. Spurs will need to be similarly impenetrable to record a similar result.
The defence have put in improved league performances against Arsenal and Southampton in recent weeks. The clean sheet in the latter game will have been a boost to their confidence too.
Still, it could have been 1-1 had Sadio Mane not fluffed his shot from a few yards out. Jan Vertonghen had passed him on as he focused on trying to block the Southampton cross, Kaboul paid no attention and the Saints attacker went dangerously free.
It was a reminder of the need for focus at all times. As best as can be managed with Vertonghen and other ways, that is something that Spurs need to reiterate in word and deed in these two weeks.
In fairness to Kaboul, he is not hiding away from that and is showing the right attitude.
"It’s a joy to play with Jan, we’ve a good understanding but we can still improve," the 28-year-old told the club website. "We can be even better. It’s still early in the season and we’re working hard in training to be 100 per cent all the time."
They will need to be better to ensure Spurs improve on the 11 goals they conceded to City in their two meetings in 2013-14.
Figuring out How to Get More out of the Tottenham Attack
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If only for periods, there has been a marked improvement in Tottenham's attacking work over the last few games.
Spurs were timid going forward in the 0-0 draw away at Partizan Belgrade, and uninspired at home as they lost 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion.
The late flurry that overturned Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the Capital One Cup was followed by a better showing against Arsenal and some dominant work against Southampton (the 1-1 Europa League draw with Besiktas was perhaps the sole concerning misstep).
The hope will be there is plenty more to come from Spurs in front of goal, though.
Again, with players like Erik Lamela and Emmanuel Adebayor away for most of this fortnight, there is little scope for training-ground improvements. Given their propensity for poring over every detail of game tape, though, Pochettino and his coaching staff will be able to examine what they want to adjust and improve on when everyone is back.
First up is figuring out ways they can hurt Manchester City, something Spurs failed spectacularly to do in their comprehensive losses last season (albeit Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood were in charge then). But there are also important matches following to be accounted for, with Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League likely to require some different ideas with different players involved.
Work with the Young Players
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The international break does provide a chance for the Tottenham coaches to work closer with the club's young players if they want to.
A new face to the first team in Ryan Mason will certainly be keen to work on his game as he tries to build on his recent appearances and establish a regular starting spot.
With other promising youngsters on loan or away with a national side themselves (both cases for Alex Pritchard), Pochettino working or overseeing sessions with those who are around is unlikely to have immediate implications.
Still, for a man who speaks so often about implementing his philosophy at the north London club, it is a rare opportunity to teach this to the next generation with the long-term in mind—one he must seize.
Get Players Fit
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It is the same of every international break, but is true all the same—try and get players fit while there is a break in play
Tottenham's injury list is not too lengthy. Yet, with the best part of two weeks until their next fixture, it does allow some more time for those out to recover knowing they are not going to miss a match this week.
That can be a boost for a man frustrated by being sidelined.
The London Evening Standard's Tom Collomosse reported this week that Kyle Walker is hoping to "return to action for Tottenham as soon as next month."
The same story also noted that fellow right-back Kyle Naughton, who went off injured against Southampton, "damaged ligaments in that tackle but believe the damage is not so bad that he will be out for the long term."
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