Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has claimed that his side still has plenty of work to do in order to bridge the gap to Arsenal, following the North London derby defeat on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs were vulnerable in the first half, conceding three goals and prompting boos from around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the break.
Postecoglou galvanised his squad at half-time, with a clear message demanding a response for Tottenham to battle back against Arsenal in the second half.
The Spurs boss got his wish as two goals after the break brought about some hope of a memorable comeback.
It wasn’t to be though, as the Gunners just about held their nerve to deny the Lilywhites a key point towards their Champions League qualification hopes.
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Ange Postecoglou on Arsenal and Tottenham gap
After the defeat to Arsenal, Postecoglou was quizzed on Tottenham’s defensive set-piece issues.
Spurs conceded twice from corners in the match, which was their 13th and 14th goals against from set-pieces across all competitions this season.
It has become a fine margin against the side, though the manager wanted to focus on “bridging the gap” between the sides after the North London derby.
“Yeah, no because it’s understanding where you are as a football team,” the manager told the press after the match.
“If I thought fixing defensive set pieces was the answer to us bridging the gap [to Arsenal] then I’d put all of my time and effort into that.
“But that’s not where we’re at. For us it’s about, when I was focused on the details of, not just set pieces but a lot of moments in games where we don’t sense that you give good opposition the time and the space to do things then they’re going to hurt you.
“I think they maybe had four attempts on goal in the first half and they conceded three. I don’t think it’s about one part of it, I think it’s a bigger, broader picture than that, but our defensive set pieces for those two were very poor. But there’s a lot more than that to fix.”
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Tottenham set-piece coach
While the focus remains on the broader points that Tottenham can improve on, the set-piece problems shouldn’t be ignored.
The defensive issues are something that Postecoglou doesn’t seem too concerned with at this stage, but it could be one of a few fine margins with which Spurs fail to land a top-four finish.
Tottenham’s coaching staff doesn’t currently include a set-piece coach, which may add an extra layer to the squad and their ability from corners and free-kicks.
Despite that, the manager has already shut down any talks over landing a new coach to his setup specifically for set-pieces.
“I’ve never had a specific set-piece coach. I’ve always had someone who’s responsible for that,” Postecoglou told the press in early March.
“I always think it’s better if that’s somebody who’s a part of the coaching staff because then that’s an extension of how we play our football.
“I don’t separate set pieces from everything else we do, in terms of the team we want to be. It all hopefully links in.
“Here we’ve split the roles between Mile [Jedinak] and Ryan Mason in terms of attacking and defensive set-pieces and they put a lot of work into it with the analysis staff. I’m sure every club does.
“Some have gone down the specialised route which I understand. It’s just it’s not how I work.
“I always try to create a collective environment for everything we do, so that nothing is separated. I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing in specialists for one particular area.
“Just for the way I work more than anything else.”
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