Time for Tottenham fans to back, not call for sack of Santo Espirito Santo

Three reasons Spurs fans should get behind Nuno now

Despite the results of the last two matches, we mustn’t be too reactive and need to keep the full season in perspective. Even in our wildest dreams, Spurs were not winning the Premier League this season, at best most realistic fans were and still are hoping for top four and a long-sought-after trophy.

Before we even consider the team and the tactics we have to remember that a 3-0 start did not suddenly mean Spurs were winning the league. In fact, it was going overzealous last season after Tottenham was in first place in December that was partially responsible for the backlash against Jose Mourinho.

Given a realistic target of the top four and trophy, despite the current situation, here are three reasons to believe Nuno can help us reach those goals.

Reason 1: Tottenham has been more physical

It was tough to see at times in the match against Rennes on Thursday but Tottenham is a more physical team than it was last season under Mourinho. There are more players, playing closer to their marks and working to let the opponents know they are there.

Certainly, there is some drop-off in this regard as you go deeper into the team, however, when you look at a team that when healthy has Japhet Tanganga, Pierre Hojbjerg, and Davinson Sanchez monitoring a third of the pitch together, that is a tough group.

It is not just the players you expect to be physical being physical too. Dele Alli, Sergio Reguilon, and of course Oliver Skipp are all looking strong and have been quite physical defensively. And before his injury, Steven Bergwijn looked the best he has physically since arriving.

It is possible this increased physical fitness has been partially responsible for some of the injuries, however, the reality is that injuries happen, it is just a question of when, to who, and for who long. Knowing this team has the ability to keep fighting for 90 minutes, see the late comeback in France to draw, means part of the physical change that was needed is happening.

Reason 2: The defense is vastly improved

Forgiving the last two matches, where Santo has been scrambling a bit for the right plan, this team has been vastly improved on defence this season. Last year the team lacked real leadership and organization in the back four.  Making matters worse the team relied on formations and attacking patterns that often left the defenders exposed in ways that did not best suit their abilities.

This season there has been much more cohesion in the defense, even despite some injuries. Yes, Japhet Tanganga’s red card is on the defense but Tottenham being beaten consistently in the midfield has been a bigger problem than a mistake-prone defence.

This does not mean all the defenders have been perfect, Doherty cut off against Rennes at times and the Ben Davies handball against Palace was terrible but to sound like Jose for a second those truly are individual mistakes. However, seeing the play of Joe Rodon or Japhet Tanganga against Rennes should give fans hope, particularly knowing that more help is on the way.

IF Spurs can get enough push and creativity from the midfield the fullbacks can pick and choose when to get forward and lessen the likelihood of the team being exposed, this defence can be good. That is the ideal and was the case in the first three matches. The lack of depth in key positions is already showing how difficult defending in this manner will be, however. That said, Nuno has improved what was a shakey unit last season.

Reason 3: We have seen some real attacking patterns from Tottenham

It was far, far more prevalent in the preseason and has been severely limited by the injuries but we have seen some real attacking patterns from Tottenham Hotspur this season. There has been a return to the third man running approach, where people are actually moving in ways that can be dangerous against the defense off the ball.

Those runs were still being made against Rennes, however, most of the time the defenders were hesitant to pull the trigger and make the long, pass. This was also true in the midfield, where one midfielder or a forward would be looking to flash diagonally and the man on the ball simply did not pull the trigger and opted for the safer sideways or even backward pass.

As the ball continues to not come the players slowly stop making the runs and then things really break down offensively. Rennes played Tottenham with an excessively high line at times but without Son, Bergwijn, or Lucas the team lacked the pace to get over the top when they were willing to do so. Dane Scarlett is clearly willing to make that run as well but by then the person most likely to hit that pass – Harry Kane – was off the pitch.

If we trust some of what we saw both in the preseason and in the first few matches when the best players were all healthy, there is reason to believe the attack can create more than we have seen.

Bonus Reason 4: Remember Pochettino’s first 10 games?

All fans need to do is look back to Mauricio Pochettino and remember his early days. Pochettino won his first four matches in all competitions for Spurs, then went over a month before winning consecutive matches again. Those first few months of his initial campaign including a 0-3 loss to Liverpool at the Lane and a 4-1 loss at Manchester City.

Many were calling for Pochettino’s head at that point, yet the Argentine when on to manage Spurs for 293 matches and had some success, despite not winning a trophy.

Look I’m not saying Santo is Pochettino. Further, NES may be the stop-gap manager many think he is and will be gone at the end of his short, two-year contract or before. Or NES may surprise us all and becomes Spurs’ best coach ever sort of like many think Pochettino did.

Likely things will be closer to the former than the latter, however, Santo has both done enough before coming to Tottenham and since arriving at N17 to have earned some respect from the fans as well as a little patience and faith, not the quick sack.