Postecoglou says one Spurs star was ‘outstanding’ despite West Ham draw

Ange Postecoglou has singled out Yves Bissouma for praise for his performance against West Ham, praising the Tottenham man for being able to control the home side’s counter-attacks.

One can argue that a point is not a bad result for Tottenham, given their record at the London Stadium and given the threat the Hammers pose on the counter-attack.

However, the fact that the Lilywhites struggled to break down the opposition and create chances despite dominating possession, might be a cause for concern for Spurs fans.

The second-half display, in particular, from the away side left a lot to be desired, with Postecoglou’s men seeming to run out of ideas against the Hammers’ low block.

However, the Tottenham head coach confessed that he was pleased with some aspects of his side’s display, including their defensive control, insisting that he saw marked improvements from their last away game at Craven Cottage.

Postecoglou was impressed by ‘outstanding’ Bissouma

Postecoglou remarked that his defenders and Bissouma did well to keep the home side’s attacking quartet quiet.

When asked if he saw it as a point gained or two dropped, the 58-year-old told Football.London: “I just don’t think about it. I am always looking to progress for us as a team. Is that a performance tonight that shows we’re developing and I thought it was.

“We certainly handled it better than say we did at Fulham a few weeks back where in a similar type of game, we just didn’t handle it well. I thought tonight, especially in our general play, our build-up and our organisation. I thought Bissouma was outstanding tonight – and the back four handled it well.

“Look at their front four and they’ll cause any team problems. I thought there was a better structural maturity in our game tonight than say like against Fulham so for me that’s progress.

“Obviously, you want to win games of football, that’s the ultimate measure but there was enough there tonight for me to say that’s a team still heading in the right direction.”

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Bissouma certainly delivered a much-improved display compared to what we have seen from him over the past couple of months.

While Tottenham’s lack of cutting-edge in attack was a matter of concern, one has to acknowledge that West Ham are a hard team to play against in their own backyard and have caused problems for plenty of good sides.