Tottenham Hotspur have won three Premier League games in a row and Archie Gray and Mateus Fernandes believe they know why
Archie Gray believes Tottenham's turnaround in form is down to the recent trip to Marbella.
Roberto De Zerbi took the squad and staff to work in Spain after the draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on October 10. With the club spending more than £300million on new signings over the summer, the trip was a chance for players and staff to get to know each other off the pitch.
It seems to have worked, too, as Tottenham have won three Premier League games on the bounce since returning from the mid-season break.
“It's a really important time for us," Gray said after the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend. "I think we've improved so much over the last couple of weeks. I think we're more of a team, more together. We're just performing better because we work for each other on the pitch.
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“The Marbella trip would have obviously helped, just getting to know each other better and being like almost brothers on the pitch. That's the thing the gaffer speaks about all the time and that's what we've been trying to do. The last few games, we've been doing that.”
With Palace down to 10-men after Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off, Gray headed Tottenahm in front before Jan Paul van Hecke doubled the home side's lead in the second half.
On his goal, Gray said: "It was a really good feeling, especially with them having a man sent off. It’s even more difficult to break them down because they want to defend more.
"It's just really important to get three wins on the bounce. It hasn't happened for quite a long time.”
Asked if he had planned his celebration, Gray added: "No, I just peeled off like Alan Shearer! I'm a bit old-fashioned. I don't really think of celebrations or anything like that - nothing comes into my head!
"I actually asked Madders, ‘what do I do for my celebration?’ and he was like, ‘I don't even know’. I didn't do anything. I just put my finger up and ran off!”
Interestingly, Mateus Fernandes also credited the trip to Marbella as a reason why Tottenham are now picking up points. The midfielder, who joined from West Ham for £85million in the summer, said: "Marbella was very important for us as a team.
“I think it builds a very good relationship with everyone, with the staff, with the team, with the team-mates. Now we're playing as a team. I think this is the change point for everybody. Now we keep going and we believe more than ever in our squad.”