The Tottenham team are aware of the contrast in their performances and are working to rectify the inconsistency in their performances, says Brennan Johnson.
Win or lose, Brennan Johnson is still scoring for Tottenham
For all the talk of inconsistency at Tottenham Hotspur, if there is a constant, it is Brennan Johnson scoring.
The winger has scored ten goals across all competitions and not only during Spurs’ wins. Johnson has scored during Tottenham’s last two draws against Fulham and Roma as well as their loss to Brighton. It shows that even when the team are not clicking as a whole, Johnson can strike at any moment.
Nevertheless, Johnson’s contributions to Tottenham’s best performances against Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa speak louder. The Tottenham squad are aware those performances are the benchmark of how the team should play and what they are striving to consistently reach.
Brennan Johnson analyses Tottenham defeats
Brennan Johnson has been speaking about what the side can do to continuously perform at their best. Johnson says (DailyMail): “When we play the way we did against Manchester City and also away at Man United it shows us what we really can do and how we can play but then losing games like Palace and Ipswich just makes it even more frustrating.
“Listen, none of us want to lose or drop off our performance so it’s something we have to look back at, really analyse and think about how we played in certain moments – maybe when the other team scored or trying to come back from defeat because obviously Ipswich we went down two goals, so we gave ourselves a mountain to climb.
“It’s a number of things. Physically, how hard we work, how hard we run, in those games we definitely did drop and we’ve looked at that. Mentality as well. In those games when the other team are on top we have to respect it and defend a little bit better then when we get the chance to attack we need to be relentless and ruthless. So it’s a mix of all those things.”
Postecoglou tactics and shallow squad depth are a lethal combination
It is encouraging to hear Johnson identify these areas where the Spurs team can improve. However, the most balanced criticism of Ange Postecoglou is that his footballing philosophy puts too great a demand on his team’s physical and mental resilience. Playing all-out attack for a full match leads to cognitive dips and drops of pressing intensity, where Spurs are starting to concede goals.
The question facing Tottenham is whether their physical and mental stamina can improve over this season, as well as a greater sense of when they can take moments to rest.
This development will not be easy while Spurs are navigating an injury crisis. Missing Dominic Solanke, Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Wilson Odobert dramatically weakens the team’s attacking resilience. Asking for greater resilience when playing twice a week and while there are fewer rotation options is a daunting task for this Spurs side.