When Ange Postecoglou walked into the dressing room after Saturday's win against Brentford he stood before his jubilant Spurs players and told them "that's exactly who we want to be".
This was the Tottenham Hotspur that Postecoglou is working towards - an all-action, relentless, pressing, chance-creating and goalscoring beast of a team. For everything that the dismal cup showing in midweek wasn't, it was there in spades in the Premier League against Brentford.
The Australian could well point to the fact that he had so many fresh legs to carry out the key pressing because of the risk he took with his team selection in midweek that just about came off.
Postecoglou tried to downplay the impressive nature of this latest performance in his post-match press conference, but this was just the result Tottenham needed and the 59-year-old's grin, waves and blown kisses to his wife Georgia and their sons up in the West Stand on Saturday night said more than any words could.
They were delighted for him as the fans sang his name and he was delighted with his team. The supporters, some of whom had made that five-hour round trip to Coventry in midweek, were rewarded for their efforts.
Brentford were missing a handful of players but still always represent a difficult challenge. They've had tight defeats at Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League this season, while beating Crystal Palace and Southampton at home.
Their opening goal showcased their threat from the first whistle. Pedro Porro gave Keane Lewis-Potter too much room to cross and Micky van de Ven did likewise for Bryan Mbeumo to volley home an excellent finish past Guglielmo Vicario.
Just 24 seconds were on the clock and that easily could have taken the wind out of Tottenham's sails and poured fear into the cracks had confidence been fragile. Instead the hosts simply pushed forward faster in waves of attacks, reverting to what Postecoglou has drilled into them. In his words after the game - "it's like it never happened".
The irony is that Spurs actually had less possession on the day for a change, only 48% to Brentford's 52 and fewer passes with 425 to the visitors' 477. Yet they dominated them in the key action in the final third.
In the first half alone, Tottenham attempted 17 shots at goal, recovered the ball 33 times and just kept flying towards the shell-shocked visitors.
The equaliser only took seven minutes to arrive. Dominic Solanke registered his first goal for Tottenham in slotting home the loose ball after James Maddison's shot was saved. The hosts' pressing had worked, Dejan Kulusevski closing down Ethan Pinnock and Maddison able to intercept a loose pass and run through.
The second goal came another 20 minutes later, following other Spurs chances, when Maddison again won the ball back, Son Heung-min took his pass and raced up the pitch and found Brennan Johnson, who ran at his man and buried a clinical shot inside the bottom left corner.
Tottenham had further opportunities, with Brentford keeper Mark Flekken called into action in the second half as well as Vicario a couple of times at the other end.
The game was put out of sight in the 85th minute after substitute Yves Bissouma, returning from his groin injury, executed an inch-perfect sliding challenge on the edge of his own box while on a yellow card. Cristian Romero played a defence-splitting pass into the path of Son and he pulled it across to Maddison to chip the ball beautifully over the goalkeeper.
Tottenham's captain and two vice-captains had combined for the killer goal. Postecoglou embraced both Son and Romero together in a bear hug on the pitch after the game.
The only person left unhappy by Maddison after his match-ending goal was his own mother, who text him immediately after the game to let him know that his booking for taking his shirt off to celebrate it had cost her a point in her fantasy football team.
In the end Spurs attempted 33 shots at goal with 10 of them blocked. Brentford had six shots and sent all six on target, compared to their hosts' 10 on target.
Even visiting boss Thomas Frank had to hand it to Postecoglou's men after their display, particularly in how they dealt with the early conceded goal.
"I thought that I saw a very good Spurs team performing very good overall, especially the first 28 or 30 minutes. We started fantastically the first minute, and then the next 29 Tottenham were on top, so credit to them. But the last 60, I thought we did very well. We did a lot of things right — really, really grew into the game," said the Dane.
"The score was 2-1 and we had four big chances. We had the chance to equalise. We didn’t, and we lost the game in the end to Tottenham. Fair play to Tottenham, they played well today.
"I think it’s also good to put into perspective that we always try to come here to win. There is no away ground we are fearful of. We respect every away ground massively. I like the bravery from my players, but also their biggest stand's capacity is bigger than our stadium.
"We played a team that are fully firing with their strongest team. We are missing five of our strongest players. I’d like that to be the other way round and see how it would go. Tottenham will probably still be favourites with the quality they have in the squad. That’s just to put things into perspective. No moaning or complaints. It is what it is. It’s my job to put a competitive team out there."
The stats show that since the start of last season Brentford have dropped more points from winning positions than any other club in the Premier League (36), while only Manchester City (30) have won more points from behind than Tottenham (28).
"It wasn't an ideal start, obviously, but, to be honest, it was like it never happened. The boys just sort of went at it. That's what we wanted to do today. We knew Brentford, they're going to be pretty aggressive with and without the ball and we love that part of the game," said Postecoglou.
"We thought if we really brought our own energy and intensity that we know we can, with and without the ball we could cause them a lot of problems and we did. We were relentless the whole game and fully deserved the win."
In the rest of his press conference, Postecoglou took a tone that made it very clear that this was a performance that he felt was little different to their first four in the Premier League, but it just featured the ball going into the net.
He played down individual performances, preferring to focus on the team's display as a unit. When football.london asked about Maddison's big contribution, he did not go for it.
"I thought he was good. I thought the whole team was good. Everyone was really focused on making sure we dominated the game in the areas we want to dominate," he said. "We kind of knew that they'd try and play out a bit. That's great for us because it gives us an opportunity to press real hard and I thought all the midfielders really supported the front three well there.
"They were going to press us when we had the ball and I thought Vic and the back four managed it really well and the midfielders played a key role with that. So I think everyone really contributed to a strong performance."
Vicario's passing was key to a lot of how Tottenham got around the Brentford man-to-man press as he picked out team-mates who would then turn on the ball and create space, mostly Maddison, Udogie and Bentancur.
The only wobbles around two excellent saves from Vicario came once when he was robbed of the ball at his feet and had to pull off another good save and then a flapping moment from a cross when he clearly handled the ball outside of his box.
The officials missed it and the suggestion is that VAR did not intervene as it was not a red card moment or a goal-preventing opportunity. With multiple Spurs players behind him, at worst Vicario would have been booked and a free-kick given. VAR does not intervene for that, as understandably frustrating as it was for Brentford.
Both Frank and Postecoglou played it down as a talking point after the game, each stating that only a free-kick would have come of it.
Aside from those two erratic moments, much of Vicario's play helped Tottenham's game plan and the team defended set pieces well despite Brentford's height across their team.
The Spurs goalkeeper is a big presence behind the scenes as well as on the pitch. football.london understands that the 27-year-old Italian was added to the team's leadership group this summer to become its fourth member with Son, Maddison and Romero, with the players looking to Vicario as one of the key voices among them. It means Postecoglou has an established leader in every line of his team.
The Tottenham head coach's post-match approach was entirely in keeping with his beliefs about what he expects each week, even if inside he will have been delighted with the display which came amid plenty of noise from outside the club.
The Australian wants it to be clear that this should be the norm and will become so, the good performances will be finished off. That meant this was not a performance to go overboard in praise for, more an acceptance of what should be.
"It's the team we want to be," he said in his club interview after the game. "Relentless is a good word for it. I keep saying to the lads, irrespective of the scoreline or the minute in the game, we just keep going. I know we have the capacity to do that. The first games in the league haven't really reflected that because we haven't got the rewards for what I think has been some good play. You could tell today that they weren't going to let that happen."
Solanke off the mark
The start to a season always brings with it sweeping judgements cast far too early and Postecoglou made a big point of saying repeatedly this week: "We're four games in!"
"That is just the way of the world today. People would rather be first to make a judgement even if they are wrong rather than wait for someone else," he said on Friday. "That is the way we live our lives these days. There is far more judgement than real reasoned, opinionated analysis, but that is the way of the world."
Much of that rush to judgement has come around Postecoglou himself but also with both Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson.
There's a social media narrative that Solanke was the cheap alternative to Ivan Toney this summer - a player no Premier League or European club ended up making a move for.
The price narrative doesn't really make much sense, bearing in mind Spurs signed Solanke from Bournemouth in a £65million deal - the most expensive in the Premier League this summer - while Toney was eventually sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for £40million.
The latter was believed to be earning just below the top band of Brentford players who are on around £60,000-a-week, before asking for big money if he was to head to the Saudi league.
Even if, let's say, Toney would have cost Tottenham £100,000 more a week in wages than Solanke - and we're not stating that would have been the case - that would take five years to make up the difference in transfer fee between the two players.
It's all a moot point anyway because Postecoglou made it clear once again on Friday that Solanke was the striker he had identified for the club to sign because he was the best fit for his pressing game.
"We did look at [Toney] but I have said Dom was the one I wanted and it took pretty much the whole summer to get him in because he was the one who fitted the profile of what we were looking for at the time," said the Spurs boss.
"It was a combination of things. The kind of striker he is in terms of his mobility. Last year Bournemouth changed how they play, a really strong pressing side, and he was at the forefront of that. That’s an important part of what we do.
"He’s got a real good presence in the box. A whole range of things. The kind of person he is, where he’s at with his career. He had some struggles earlier in his career and came through those. It’s not just one or two things. It’s an all round fit that I thought for what we need right now, Dom was ideal."
Solanke's start was hampered by that ankle injury suffered during his first game at Leicester and it meant that by the time he returned for the North London Derby, he came in having played just one game in seven weeks.
He's therefore having a pre-season of sorts at the moment with three starts in six days and his drained legs were showing that at the end on Saturday before coming off after 88 minutes.
His fourth game for the club brought his first goal, with good anticipation to drive home the loose ball after Maddison's shot was saved eight minutes in.
The 27-year-old had further shots on goal, two more on target and one off, forcing Flekken into a good save after a Bentancur run into the box.
Solanke also provides a key focal point, he's strong on the ball and uses it well under pressure with his dribbling ability. He also leads the press and his fitness and sharpness will only continue to improve in the weeks ahead.
There's also another aspect of his aerial ability - he won two aerial duels - in that he's helping Tottenham in defending set pieces.
When asked after the game what Postecoglou wants him to do, Solanke explained: "He's quite big on possession obviously, having the ball, hence why we press as soon as we lose the ball in order to get it back.
"So he's quite dominant in that and in possession he just wants everyone to get on the ball, everyone to show for each other, and dominate the ball by playing as high as we can in their half and keeping the ball as close to their goal as possible."
Postecoglou and Solanke in the way they spoke after the game both just treated it like another match and another goal for him. The strike was not seen as crucial, more just the first of many in both of their minds.
"Dom's still working his way to match fitness. You saw at the end there, he was out of gas. We wanted to take him off a bit earlier, but we needed that third goal to kill the game off, but he was good again, I think he's been good in every game he's played for us, and as you said, strikers love scoring goals and, yeah, a great moment for him to score his first goal for the club, particularly at home," said the Australian.
"But aside from that, again it was a really strong performance by him. I thought he led the line really well, important for us today as a link up there because we knew they'd go pretty aggressive on a man-to-man marking and he was going to have to hold the ball up for us and I thought he did that really well."
Solanke after his 19 Premier League goals last season and 73 goals across his past four seasons at Bournemouth meant his price tag was always going to be high. That meant all eyes were going to be on when he scored his first goal and Postecoglou was bewildered by the rush to judge so early on.
"People are just so quick to judge. It's a small sample. The guy has played less than two games for us. If he has gone 15 games without a goal then I can answer that question or 15 games where he hasn't contributed, but I just think take a breath. Do a bit of yoga. Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that," he said on Friday.
"We don't have to rush to make judgement all the time because the alternative is he may have got off to a great start, he is fit, scored in all four games, is flying and then he goes through a patch like all strikers where he doesn't score. I just don't look at those things. What I look at is he has come in, fitted really well and quite logically has picked up an injury that has disrupted the way he wanted to start his career, but he's still got plenty of time for that."
Strikers do want to score goals though and Solanke is off the mark. In this Postecoglou system, he's going to get the chance to add many more in a Tottenham shirt.
Johnson reshapes the narrative
You could take your pick of 'things you love to see' moments when it came to Brennan Johnson on Saturday.
First was the sound of the majority of the 61,246 fans inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium giving the 23-year-old a huge cheer when his name was read out in the team just moments before kick-off.
Then came his goal on 28 minutes, a brilliant finish inside the bottom left corner of the net to make it two goals in two games and two important ones as well.
As he enjoyed the moment with his team-mates after shushing the Brentford fans in celebration, the Tottenham supporters then sang 'There's only one Brennan Johnson' around the stadium.
Johnson is hugely popular within the squad and among the coaching staff, and is one of the hardest workers within the team. He's also got enormous potential as a young player, as his clinical run and finish showed, exactly as it did in that last-gasp clutch moment at Coventry on Wednesday night.
Postecoglou said after that late midweek winner that most of Johnson's critics would require a "change of pants pretty quickly" if they had been in his shoes in that moment.
Criticism is part of life as a footballer but abuse should not be and it is the latter that had affected Johnson, so to see his week go this way shows he writes his own story.
His performance on Saturday was loaded with threat and he could have added to his goal, sending one early shot wide, another at the keeper and after a slightly overhit pass by Son in the second half, he fired across goal from a tight angle.
That's not to criticise Son, who was a creative force during the match, ending the day with two assists and seven key passes leading to chances. For context, Brentford's players managed six in total between them.
Son and Maddison were the first to rush over to Johnson after he scored, his captain and vice-captain and two of his closest friends in the squad, making sure he knew exactly what he does for the team.
"Brennan scores, a brilliant finish, so happy for him but he played well and he was a threat in behind," said Maddison after the game. "He made some unbelievable runs so if he didn't score, he was still good for the team but it just shuts a few people up when you stick one in the back of the net so really happy for everyone."
When Johnson left the pitch on 69 minutes, tiring after his three games in six days, the Spurs fans rose to applaud him and sang his name again.
"Brennan's had a top week," said Postecoglou. "He scored in the cup to get us through, scored the winner and he scored a fantastic goal again today to get us ahead and he was a real threat all the way through.
"He had a bit of a tough period last week and sometimes it gives you perspective about what's important and what's important to Brennan is that he's a much-loved team-mate and like I said in the week, he works hard every day and I've got no doubt he'll make a big impact for our club."
He added: "I had my say on social media and all that sort of stuff during the week, but anyone who watches Brennan play, if they think he doesn't give everything he can every week and work as hard as he can for the team and how much he cares, I'll be very surprised.
"But that's to one side. For every footballer you've got to go through difficult moments and he's handled it really well. Like I said, I think it gives you a perspective that when the next difficult moment comes - inevitably it always comes - I'm sure he'll know what's important to him."
Of course it shouldn't take back-to-back goals for Johnson to escape the social media scapegoating and especially the abuse for a week. He's only 23-years-old and he's got a record of a goal involvement in almost every other game he's played in for Spurs since arriving last summer.
That's no mean feat even if the £50million price tag weighs on him through no fault of his own.
Brennan Johnson has shown his strength this week and his character. Postecoglou and the Tottenham coaching staff firmly believe he's going to become a star for the club. If he continues down his current path then he's going to have a lot of people eating their words by the end of this season alone.
Maddison and some midfield magic
The key to Tottenham's victory was to be found in their midfield on Saturday afternoon. For Brentford's man-to-man marking was only going to be successful if they hassled their hosts' playmakers into submission.
The strategy had one big flaw though and that was if the Tottenham players could skip away from their attentions it unlocked them completely. So it proved to be with nobody doing it better than James Maddison.
This might just have been the 27-year-old's best display in a Tottenham shirt for he brought everything needed to the game.
His pressing and energy resulted in both of the first two goals for the team and then he wrapped up his performance with a perfect bow in the shape of a delightful chip over Flekken and into the Brentford net in the 85th minute.
He was the fulcrum for everything good Spurs did and this is the Maddison that is crucial to the Postecoglou way, when he takes a firm grip of games and won't let go.
The midfielder's busy display in the engine room brought three shots, two on target, three key passes, three dribbles, three tackles, two clearances and one interception.
"The team is always the most important thing. I would have been happy with my performance and how I played regardless of whether I got the goal at the end or not," said Maddison after the game.
"It obviously helped us in the game because we got that little cushion. It kind of shuts up a few people in the background who think the goals and assists do matter more than what they probably do.
"I am an attacking player who has scored goals and always got assists, that's my job. So, when you are not doing that and even if you feel like you are playing well personally, helping the team and the gaffer is happy with what I'm doing for the team. For some games you have it where I feel like I play really well in the build-up and help the team progress but you don't get a goal or assist to show for that.
"And then people start questioning the numbers, so sometimes you have to take the outside noise with a pinch of salt, but on the other hand I love scoring goals and it was a nice feeling. I think I had to blow the dust off the old darts celebration because it has been a little while, but it felt so good in front of the south stand to score so I'm really happy."
He added: "[The pre-passes get lost] amongst people who look at the numbers and compare numbers, but my team-mates, my manager and the coaches know that the build-up phase is just as important as the person who lays it off for the person who scores. Within our unit we are not naïve to that."
What helped Spurs so much during the game was that every time Guglielmo Vicario or Destiny Udogie would pass to Maddison, so he would turn and wriggle away from a couple of Brentford players, thus leaving a huge channel behind for his team-mates to operate in.
"That's what I like doing. I do like helping with the build-up deeper because - without sounding like I'm blowing my own trumpet - I'm good in the tight areas especially," admitted the midfielder.
"We've worked on it since the Coventry game, Brentford pressing man-to-man, so when you're stood there in the build-up phase you have your man and he's going to follow you everywhere.
"So sometimes all it takes is one player to have a good touch, drop a shoulder just to separate half a yard from your man and that's where you can get the better of man-to-man because if one player gets the better of their man then you're away, because everyone else is marking and not coming towards you."
Alongside Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur was starting his third game in six days, having played the full 95 minutes or so at Coventry in midweek.
The Uruguayan would have had every right to look jaded, yet he dominated the midfield, covering for team-mates, racing back and making three interceptions and two tackles. Like Maddison he excelled in turning and beating the Brentford press and providing a platform for his team-mates.
Tottenham are currently waiting to hear from the FA on what happens next for Bentancur following his charge amid a potential six to 12 game ban.
A domestic ban would at least allow him to continue to play in the club's Europa League matches in the weeks ahead in order to keep him ticking over and maintaining the rhythm he is starting to find again after that long injury absence last year. It was always expected among the club's medical staff to be this season that Bentancur would regain his stride following his cruciate ligament injury.
The third member of the midfield trio is Tottenham's player of the season so far - Dejan Kulusevski.
The Swede is revelling in the role he's been asking to play in for years. He told football.london two summers ago that it was his favourite and it's clear to see why, because Kulusevski is a force of nature in a deeper position.
He encourages good football and movement around him. One opportunity in the second half came after a clever one-two between Maddison and Udogie before Kulusevski ran on to the former's pass and forced Flekken into a good save.
Kulusevski managed four shots, three passes, one dribble and one interception and Maddison explained how it's a different experience for him to play alongside the Sweden international in the midfield three.
"It is a little bit different purely because of relationships. Deki is a very attacking, forward-thinking, driving forward type of player. So when I play with Pape, for example, I know that he's going to be a little bit deeper in the build-up so I can stay high and keep my discipline in a position between the lines," he said.
"Whereas Kulu almost likes to do what I do, so sometimes I have to be a bit deeper, which maybe you get less shots on goal or chances in the final third, but I'll help in the build-up and Kulu can be the one. It's just about getting that balance. The gaffer says it constantly that we're a team and it's not about whoever scores the goal.
"He used an analogy the other day which I thought was brilliant at Coventry. It's like he makes changes but it's just handing on the baton and they go on or we come on and have an impact like the subs did today.
"I think it's important that people realise it's not just about the goals, it's sometimes for the team and hopefully the fans enjoyed today and watched what we did and that's all because of the structure that comes from the gaffer."
Bissouma also came on and did his job despite an early yellow card with a crucial tackle to set Spurs away for their final goal and Sarr also delivered a solid showing from the bench. Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, albeit at right-back, got to come on for the final minutes and Postecoglou's strength in midfield options was shown with everyone fit.
It's down to Maddison as vice-captain to lead the midfield and if he can continue to put in performances like this to make Postecoglou's system tick then Spurs are going to win games aplenty.
Ignoring the noise and looking forward
This week has been all about ignoring the noise outside of the club and focusing on the football.
"It's important that you enjoy what you do and you love what you do," said Maddison. "I love football and I enjoyed that today. I enjoy every game and I've been really enjoying this season. We just haven't had the results to go with the performances when we feel like we've dominated the games.
"People start to talk a little bit, people start to doubt but within us, and staying compact within our unit, with the gaffer, the staff and everyone at the training ground, just ignoring everything else and sticking to our principles and continuing to play well and we'll get results and have performances like today. I'm just really happy when you play like that, dominate and get the result to go with it."
Postecoglou has been here before. It's nothing new. He's been doubted everywhere he goes, often after the first season when the rebuild is really being pushed through. They doubted him at Celtic after just two matches in his first campaign and they went on to win the double.
In the Premier League, the road is longer, the rebuild far bigger with the mess Spurs were in when he arrived last May and the competition fiercer, but the performances and the team structure have looked better so far in the league than in his first campaign.
The training sessions are more layered with tactical information with the football foundations now laid. This is a different Tottenham team to the one that ended the last campaign and the results just haven't matched the displays thanks to poor finishing, which will change as Postecoglou gets his strikers back and sharp.
For the Australian, it's all about shutting out the external noise and focusing on the process.
"Firstly, you can say, well if we lost the other night we would have been in crisis, but if we won our first game, I’d probably be sitting here and people would have been saying 'can you win a title this year', and both of them are just not the reality of my world," he said on Friday. "I have always been pretty good at staying clear-eyed and focused about what is important.
"To me, in terms of what I’m trying to build, I think the external noise, whether it’s valid or not, I just find it’s a massive distraction to what you’re trying to do. I learned along the way, in both ways, whether things are going well or not going well, not to let that external noise distract me from what I believe needs to be done.
"Many parts of my life, I’m not very disciplined, especially around eating, but when it comes to football I’m really disciplined. Nothing will take me away from what I think needs to be done. I don’t really care … not care … but I won’t let it enter my space."
He added: "I ignore the tide and just keep swimming. Others may feel that way and if they do, there’s nothing wrong with that. You need to embrace the struggle. You don’t get success just by everything rolling out perfectly. There are times when you’ve just got to roll your sleeves up and keep going.
"Whether that’s swimming against the tide, running up the hill, going against the wind, you can use whatever metaphor you want, that’s great, that’s what you need. But I ignore it because I don’t think that’s going to help me in any way. What’s the best process for me is to stay steely-eyed focused on what I think I need to do to get us to where we want to.
"It’s all the same. It’s been a constant in my career, but I don’t think I’m in a unique space. I keep saying to people, show me a success story and I’ll show you a struggle. It’s not something that’s unique to me, it’s universal. People forget the struggle and look at the end bit, but you need to go through that.
"That’s the time that tests your resolve, tests your belief, tests everything you want to do. This is no different to anything else I’ve ever done. It’s exactly the same process."
Up next is Qarabag at home in the Europa League and if Tottenham can win that first group stage game then all of the sudden doom and gloom, mostly centred around a narrow North London Derby defeat, will have dissipated in the form of three wins in a row before they head to Old Trafford.
With the new-look Europa League format featuring eight group stage games, all against different sides, a team would have to be truly awful to avoid making it through to the knockout stages.
That gives Postecoglou even more latitude with his ability to rotate and keep players fresh for the game against Manchester United next weekend.
Cristian Romero will get an enforced rest as he will be suspended for the Qarabag match, thanks to his red card against AC Milan, the last time Tottenham played in European football two seasons ago.
Postecoglou will likely change three of his four defenders again with Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Archie Gray to come in again. The choice to be had is whether Davies plays as a centre-back or a left-back depending on whether Micky van de Ven or Destiny Udogie gets the rest.
This is where the decision to leave Djed Spence out of the Europa League squad will cause problems for Postecoglou, even before injuries hit as the weeks go on.
Academy centre-back Alfie Dorrington was back in action for the U21s against Valencia in the Premier League International Cup on Tuesday night following his long hamstring injury lay-off.
While the 19-year-old played just an hour on his return and then wasn't thrown straight back into the Premier League 2 defeat Fulham three days later, Postecoglou might consider him for a place among the bigger 12-man bench. Other academy players could join him to fill those seats.
Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr will probably start and despite his poor showing at Coventry, Timo Werner could get a chance to make amends.
Seventeen-year-old Mikey Moore, who got some more Premier League minutes on Saturday, could be in line to make his first start for Tottenham if Postecoglou looks to rest as many of his front line as possible.
Postecoglou will have to decide whether to use Dominic Solanke yet again for an hour or so to keep topping up his match fitness and potentially keep him on the goal trail, or hand Son Heung-min his turn this week to be the central striker.
There is also 19-year-old Will Lankshear, who returned this week to training following his own hamstring injury. He played only 45 minutes of Friday night's U21s game but he is expected to be included in the squad for the Qarabag game barring any issues and could get some minutes as it goes on.
Postecoglou will probably choose between Fraser Forster and Brandon Austin to start in goal while Yves Bissouma could be handed an hour under his belt to get his fitness levels back up after his recent absence.
The Tottenham fans are going to get the chance to see different faces without the fear of single leg knockout football and that could allow chances for the likes of Moore and Lankshear to grab the headlines and players like Werner and Forster to restore their confidence after their displays at Coventry.
For Postecoglou it is a chance to look forward and keep working on creating a squad that, as he told his players, can hand on the baton amongst themselves. The key is to shut out all of that outside noise.
"I believe in [where we're going], I know the boys believe in it, the coaches believe in it, we see it every day. It's who we're going to be. It's not as smooth as people would like.
"They'd like us to already be there in terms of our destination, but we've still got a little bit of a way to go. Along the way we're not going to veer off from the fact that this is the kind of team that we want to be."
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