‘Hurting’ Spurs find defensive strength before defining week

Tottenham’s season hasn’t yet had a regular outlet for the ability to win while also displaying defensive strength.

Spurs’ 2-0 victory at Brentford, however, brought their four-game losing streak to an end in a week that could determine their campaign and the direction of manager Ange Postecoglou’s future.

Under-pressure Postecoglou could not have been happier.

“We defended as well as we have all season, but we still had the talent to hurt them the other way.” It was an outstanding effort by the players”, said Postecoglou.

Because Brentford, who have scored the most goals in any Premier League game away this season, were frequently frustrated as Spurs kept their first league clean sheet in 2025, he had every reason to be delighted.

“It’s a difficult place to come and to win and difficult to keep them out”, added Postecoglou.

Postecoglou praised the returning Djed Spence and 18-year-old Archie Gray, both of whom were booed by home fans after leaving Leeds last summer and choosing to work for Tottenham rather than Brentford.

Tottenham strengthened their defensive ranks by signing Austria international Kevin Danso on loan from Ligue 1 side Lens with a commitment to buy in the summer, Postecoglou said. “We’re still a little thin defensively,” Postecoglou said.

“The job Archie Gray is doing is remarkable. 18 years old, he has never played center back, and he regularly practices in Europe. We are very fortunate to have him because he is fantastic.

Gray himself was pleased with the side’s defensive efforts, adding: “At times this season, we have lost concentration just for five minutes. As soon as that]first] goal went in, we knew we couldn’t make the same mistakes and we had to keep disciplined for the second half.

This was the kind of performance Postecoglou would have enjoyed greatly from as he prepared to continue to battle a lengthy injury list that left him without nine key players, for Tottenham, who is so frequently criticized for being weak defensively.

Prior to this trip to the Gtech Community Stadium, Tottenham had only managed one point from their seven league games, which put them in danger of losing five straight top-flight games for the first time since 2004.

Before the hosts put more pressure on themselves in the second half, Son Heung-min’s superb inswinging corner off the back of Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt into his own net gave Spurs a good lead.

However, Pape Matar Sarr’s late run-on and flicked ball into the net sealed the victory.

Former Tottenham defender Stephen Kelly, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, described it as” a huge win”.

” Brentford will be bitterly disappointed with the amount of possession they had, final third entries, and they didn’t make it count, “he said.

” But Tottenham have been resilient, shown they can defend, not been gung-ho and not leaving themselves open. This relieves some of the pressure on them, which is exactly what Ange Postecoglou needs.

Spurs moved up from 16th to 14th after the supporters chanted “we are staying up,” infuriating those who had predicted the club was about to be relegated.

” It’s great for the supporters and the players, “added Postecoglou”. They are all hurting, the players are hurting as well. We need to make changes because it’s not where we want to be.

The players are giving everything, and I’m so happy they were able to share that with the supporters, even though we’re not in the league position we want or are nowhere near it.

It has been a tough campaign for Tottenham, but one that could still end in glory.

Postecoglou is only two games away from winning the first silverware trophy under the manager of Spurs since 2008’s Carling Cup.

On Thursday, they will travel to Liverpool, holding a slim 1-0 advantage after the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.