Ange reassures fans, delivers message on long-term development in North London

Tottenham's boss has been consistent in his message about what the goal is for Spurs, and the timeline for what that might look like. As it stands, the team is still deeply entrenched in that process.

Spurs fell to Manchester City 1-0 in today's fourth round of the FA Cup. Throughout parts of the match, the squad simply didn't look their normal selves, with their usual attacking threat somewhat pacified.

However, despite the uncharacteristic performance, the team wasn't terrible, especially considering the opponent they were going up against. After the match, Ange spoke on the harm of drawing too many conclusions about the club's future from this one match:

"Well it's fair to say [City have]... got eight or nine years on us. I hope that people have a little bit of perspective about the team we're trying to be. It doesn't happen in six months. I don't think even City did it in six months," the manager said.

Postecoglou continued, articulating that it "doesn't mean you shy away from the challenge of it or don't get disappointed by it or don't feel like you could have tackled it in a different way. It's not an excuse but the reality of it is that they're well down the line in being the team they are and we're still very much in the early stages. You need to use that as your benchmark moving forward."

The point is, Spurs have a long way to go. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the team's multiple monthly awards, Son's goalscoring prowess this season, and crucial victories against teams like Liverpool. However, Ange is still in his first months on the job, and the team are adapting to the new identity which has been brought to North London.

The rest of the season's fixtures will prove challenging in their own right as the squad take on tough opponents and work to fight through a whole seventeen more matches. All that supporters can do is continue to be just that: supportive. Periods of doubt may come about in the future, as they do with any team and manager, however, it's much too early for any of that.

Tottenham now take on Brentford this Wednesday. With Maddison's return to play, it could prove an exciting fixture and an opportunity to keep the momentum going into the second half of the season.