How Paulinho Can Force His Way Back into the Tottenham Hotspur Side

Paulinho's stoppage-time introduction in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 north London derby win over Arsenal was a typical time-wasting, momentum-killing move. The Gunners were searching for an equaliser, and the substitution helped take the sting out of their attempts.

The Brazilian might well be pleased to have some involvement in such a momentous win for Tottenham. You would not blame him, though, if it were tempered by the disappointment of being dropped.

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All things considered, the start of 2015 has largely been kinder to Paulinho than the end of last year—he has appeared in more matches in a month than the previous two combined. If he is to force his way into Mauricio Pochettino's side on a more regular basis, though, it is going to require further perseverance.

Compared to the quiet, peripheral figure Paulinho cut early in the season, lately there has been a more assured air about him.

Save for his goalscoring performance against AEL Limassol back in August, Paulinho's work early on in the campaign did not warrant more than the fleeting opportunities he was granted.

It was understandably difficult for him returning from a tough World Cup experience into a club situation where he had to get to know his third boss in less than a year.

Some like Nacer Chadli, Harry Kane and Ryan Mason made the most of the general malaise early in Pochettino's reign, showing how they could improve things. Others like Paulinho failed to assert themselves in a way that would lead to more playing time.

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Whether anything changed for the 26-year-old personally or if it was a case of settling into the season, he has undoubtedly made more of his situation recently.

Pochettino has used rotation to lessen the effects of his team's demanding winter schedule. Paulinho—adept in central midfield or a more advanced role—is an ideal player to call on and slot into different scenarios as needed.

While not reaching outstanding levels, Paulinho has been steadily effective in this back-up duty.

Off the bench against Chelsea, he helped see the 5-3 win out. He scored to help turn around the FA Cup replay versus Burnley, then last week grew into his defensive duties in the 3-0 defeat of West Bromwich Albion.

Decent as he has been, the indications are Paulinho is not going to turn into a player to star for his team on a frequent basis. Over 18 months into his stay in England, we have seen little to suggest so anyway. Considering he might not be great in any one area, his best chance of playing more will be to make reliability his chief attribute.

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Being a disciplined, tidy midfield presence will not make him as eye-catching an option for his boss as the youthful and vigourous academy-educated products Nabil Bentaleb or Mason. Nor will a good, but not necessarily productive penchant for putting teams on the back foot with runs into the box impress in the way the creative Christian Eriksen or the skillful Mousa Dembele have further forward.

But in the event one of them loses form or gets injured, Paulinho showing he can provide adequate cover could make him the go-to guy in Pochettino's mind. From there, with a bit of determination he might just do enough to keep his place and potentially turn himself from cover to first choice.

It will be tough. But if Paulinho wants to make it at Tottenham, he is going to have to bide his time while he continues to work on his game.

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