London: As the sky gets darker earlier and the cool air starts to bite in the United Kingdom, the desire to be in the sun grows.
For many, the Mediterranean Sea calls. The destination is often the white villas, clear water and sandy beaches of Marbella.
It’s at this location where Tottenham’s fortunes changed.
Six matches into the season, Spurs were close to rock bottom. The Premier League side hadn’t won a match and had drawn 1-1 with Manchester United.
Following two disastrous finishes in the league - where relegation was a possibility last season - the fans were worried again.
Before the United match, manager Roberto De Zerbi could already tell something needed to change and had booked in a trip to southern Spain.
In the warm weather with salt water in the air, the players bonded.
“We trained really hard during the day but at night it was about all of us having dinners together, leaving our phones outside the room and trying to get to know each other on a better level,” Spurs left-back Andy Robertson told Stan Sport and nine.com.au.
“There’s no coincidence that when we came back, the results were really positive.
“Those five days were important for the squad to get together, get to know each other, get to know the staff better and know that we were all in it together.
“I think it was important, and we’ve reaped the rewards of that. I don’t think our families were overly happy with it straight after an international break but as long as it means we’re winning games, that’s important in a football sense.”
Having signed with the club in the off-season, Robertson was one of those players that benefited from a camp where phones were tucked away and socialising was a non-negotiable.
Others like Savio, Tosin Adarabioyo, Mykhailo Mudryk and Omar Marmoush also needed time to gel, having joined in the last week of the transfer window.
Upon return, Spurs went bang.
A 3-1 win against Coventry came as a relief for De Zerbi before more victories against Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Spurs have now gone from the bottom to ninth.
Robertson has been a big part of that, having played his best match for the club against Palace.
From Spurs’ training ground in Enfield, he admitted players may have fallen “back into that trap” of last season when losing habits had formed.
But then again that’s why he was signed, to change those habits.
His nine-year career at Liverpool was fruitful. He won the Premier League and EFL Cup twice and the FA Cup once. There was the crowning honour of the 2018-19 Champions League too.
But as a changing of the guard came at Liverpool, Robertson confirmed he’d leave as a free agent and head to Tottenham.
“I just think it was the perfect next step in my career. Obviously, it’s been well documented it’s not gone how everyone at Tottenham wanted it to go, especially in the Premier League,” he said.
“I saw it as a challenge for me, something to get my teeth into, and feel valued, and I had that motivation and determination to help the football club. All the new signings had that, and we wanted to embrace the culture that was already here and bring our own personalities into the changing room and help Tottenham get to where they belong.”
Having lived in the north of England for over a decade and Scotland before that, Robertson had to adjust.
“London living is 100 miles an hour, everyone is in a rush,” he said.
On the pitch, he said the adjustment was “difficult” after a successful period at Liverpool that will forever define his legacy.
In January of his final season, Spurs made contact with Robertson. He intended to join, as long as they stayed up.
Robertson admitted on The Overlap in September that became invested in Spurs’ matches as they battled relegation.
De Zerbi stayed in contact with Robertson over the UK summer to ensure he knew what the expectation was going forward.
“He was determined to get this club back to where he believes it belongs, to try and implement his style of play, to try and help drag the club back,” the left-back said at Enfield.
“That was the clear message. It was pretty simple but also very effective because you have a manager who is willing to do everything to make this club successful and I think you can get on board with that quite easily and that’s probably why so many new signings came through the door.
“We knew it was a big challenge, he knew it, but it was a challenge we’ve all decided we’re going to face head-on. I think you’ve seen that, and hopefully we keep doing that and face it head-on and if we do that then I think we can achieve a lot of things this season but it’s up to us to try and go prove it.”
Tottenham’s next challenge will be against Leeds at 11:30pm (AEDT).