Ange Postecoglou was understandably struggling. The 59-year-old had just trekked up the three big flights of stairs to Ipswich's press conference room and then had to immediately answer questions from the assembled media.
As he went to answer his first question, he took a brief pause with a laugh before explaining: "Three flights of stairs mate, I'm out of condition. Sorry it's embarrassing but anyway."
The Australian had just watched his team huff and puff yet come away with a 4-1 result that ensured Spurs made the short trip back from Suffolk with a third Premier League win on the bounce.
It's just what the players and Postecoglou needed. It might not have been the most convincing 4-1 win you'll ever see, but it was a reminder that Tottenham can cut teams apart at will when they play the Postecoglou way with fast passing, pressing and movement.
They are the Premier League's second highest scorers for a reason, with 53 goals from their 26 matches and another big haul of goals on Saturday should restore the confidence beaten down by the gruelling recent months.
To put the tally into context, Manchester United have scored a whopping 23 fewer goals in the league than Spurs this season and conceded one fewer, yet sit only three points behind.
It's about key goals at key times for Tottenham, who have still not lost by more than a single goal margin to anyone other than Liverpool, and the past three Premier League matches at least show that's starting to turn.
The day had not begun in the way a big victory should. Ipswich started the game like a rocket, fuelled by the crowd behind them and they almost scored within a minute. Guglielmo Vicario palmed away Liam Delap's shot and Jaden Philogene's follow-up hit the offside Omari Hutchinson on the line.
Delap then sent a header from a free-kick crashing against the left-hand post and it felt like another tough away day in front of a noisy crowd was in the offing.
That's when you need your leaders to step up and Son Heung-min certainly did. First, on 18 minutes, Archie Gray put the skipper away down the left with a perfectly-weighted diagonal ball and the South Korean left Ben Godfrey dizzy and eventually on the floor with his stepovers and acceleration before his low cross was stabbed home by Brennan Johnson.
Eight minutes later and the Wales international had his 14th goal of the season and another against his father David's former club.
On this occasion Rodrigo Bentancur sent Son away down the left and this time the captain cut inside and found the waving and unmarked Johnson free to strike a low shot past the keeper.
Ipswich are fighting for their Premier League lives and they duly grabbed a goal back before the break to keep the game on the edge.
Spurs were slow to get rid of a ball and former Tottenham winger Jack Clarke made his point to his old club by picking out Hutchinson in space to curl a clinical shot inside the right-hand post.
The hosts pushed for a leveller and had one effort after the break ruled out for offside, but it was Tottenham who scored the killer goal on 77 minutes.
Fast feet from substitute James Maddison took him into the Ipswich box before he moved the ball to Djed Spence who struck a deflected effort past Alex Palmer to make it 3-1 and register his first Premier League goal.
Seven minutes later and the game was completely put to bed when Kevin Danso's clearance was headed on by Dane Scarlett into the path of Dejan Kulusevski who ran on, cut inside and curled an effort in off the left-hand post.
It's worth noting that the first two goals were scored by a player making his first Premier League start in almost two months and the two late goals were set up by substitutes. Postecoglou finally is able to rotate and bring on players who can impact matches after making so for so long with so few.
"We've certainly benefited from having a couple of midweeks off for sure. That's coincided with getting a few players back," said the Australian. "You saw today we were able to rest a couple of players in Pedro and Madders. I can make substitutions and the players coming on can make a difference.
"We're certainly in a good space of using these two weeks as well as we could to re-energise the team and I think it is. We've still got some significant players out. We've got Solanke, Richarlison, Romero, Van de Ven, Ben Davies, he's out today. They're all still to come back.
"I just feel like we've got a really good opportunity in these next 10 days to be well equipped for what's ahead. What's ahead is obviously Europe but also an opportunity to address our league position which is obviously not good enough."
Defensive education
The opening moments of the match did not look positive for the backline with Spurs' defence all over the place.
Kevin Danso had been switched to the left with Archie Gray playing alongside him on the right for the first time in the Premier League. The duo had lined up together in the centre of defence in the FA Cup tie at Aston Villa, but on that day Gray was on the left.
"We just felt Archie is more comfortable on the right. We just felt he could do better on the right, and give Kev a go on the left-hand side, we wanted to see how he goes left-hand side, because he may have to play on that side for us during this period," said Postecoglou on Saturday.
The switch around on Saturday looked disastrous in those opening minutes. The physically intimidating Delap targeted the 18-year-old Gray and it looked like it was going to be a complete mismatch.
School had begun but Gray was taking notes. He adapted and learned as the match wore on and Danso just threw himself at everything, taking the load of the defensive actions as the senior and only natural centre-back.
Not only did Gray start to match Delap in the physical battle but he kept getting in the referee's ear about the string of fouls the striker was committing. It was just a little bit more for Delap to think about and cause pause as Gray was given free-kicks four times for fouls.
In all, Gray managed three ball recoveries and blocked one shot and tellingly won four of his six ground duels as he grew more and more into the game.
"That's the beauty of Arch. Like I said during the week, we know he's playing out of position, we know we're throwing him challenges," said Postecoglou. "Delap's a handful for anybody in this league. First few minutes, he caused him some problems, but I love that Arch takes on that challenge.
"He doesn't shy away from it, he doesn't hide. He just keeps going. As I've said, we'll get enormous growth out of him during this period, but right now he's contributing to us, he's helping us. I thought we had to do some defensive work today, not a lot, but the defensive work we had to do was important. Against, like I said, a real top striker. I thought he handled it well."
Gray also showed his quality on the right with the perfect diagonal ball into the path of Son which led to the opening goal.
When asked if that pass was vindication for switching the teenager to the right, Postecoglou said: "If you say so mate I'll take it, any decision I make that you think is a positive. Look, I thought Archie... he's handled everything thrown at him really well.
"I just felt today, we kind of knew Delap's a handful, I just felt putting Archie in, he's a right-sided player, putting him on the right side. Kevin's a bit more experienced. I wanted to see how Kevin handled the left-hand side, because that's an area where we may need him during this run-in and I thought both of them handled it well."
Danso had to play on the left because Ben Davies was not in the squad on the day. Postecoglou named him among those missing through injury at one point but toned that down when football.london asked what was up with the Welshman.
"Just managing his minutes as well. We've got to try to navigate these next 10 days to two weeks until the international break to make sure we've got as many players available as possible squad-wise for what's ahead," he said.
"That's why I left Pedro and Madders out today. I was able to give them a bit of a rest. We didn't want Brennan and Destiny to play more than 60 minutes. All of these kind of decisions at the moment are about trying to get us into a position where we have as many players healthy as possible."
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are certainly going to have to share game time with Danso when they return. The Austrian has been a revelation and the travelling fans belted out renditions of 'Super Kevin Danso' at various points throughout the encounter.
The 26-year-old has described himself as a warrior and a gladiator and he certainly takes the hits. On numerous occasions he seemed to be injured, taking a whack to a muscle or holding his groin. On one occasion he fell to the floor in pain but realised the team needed him as play was still going on, so he dragged himself back up and started instructing everyone where to go.
This happened on a few occasions. It was somewhat reminiscent of the knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
"Tis but a scratch. I've had worse. Just a flesh wound," Danso no doubt said before declaring that he would bite any attacker's legs off.
"I think he enjoys the whacks," Postecoglou admitted to football.london. "He's been great for us since he came in. He's really taken to the club, taken to the group of players, taken on the challenge.
"It's not easy when you're coming into a new club, and we're asking him to come in and almost be a senior member. We still had three teenagers out there starting today, and a fourth coming on. It's still a really young team. I think Kevin's been a super addition for us."
Danso did get caught in possession for Ipswich's goal just when he seemed to have taken control of the situation, but he made six clearances on the day with his feet and four with his head, plus three ball recoveries and one interception, while also winning five of his nine duels on the ground and in the air.
At the final whistle, Vicario jumped on his back and spoke into his ear, before playfully pushing the Austrian away. Danso's bubbly but strong character is perfect for this young group of players and the older heads like Vicario will thrive from having another leader alongside them. Don't bet against Danso being added to the leadership group in the next 18 months.
Vicario had relatively little to do after his early save from Delap. He couldn't get anywhere near Hutchinson's shot but from then on any Ipswich effort that came his way was comfortable. The hosts had 17 shots on the day to Spurs' 10, but most were of little threat and there was no contest over who was the more dangerous side in the final third.
The Spurs full-backs both made their mark. Destiny Udogie was solid on his return and showed how important his runs through the middle of the pitch are, rekindling his partnership with Son quickly.
On the other flank, Spence didn't quite hit the heights on the right albeit having the confidence to drift past players with wonderful footwork. He was involved in a battle of the "club signings" with Clarke for much of the first half.
It was when he switched back to the left in the final half an hour that Spence got his rewards for recent months in the shape of his first Premier League goal.
Postecoglou said on Friday that he tested Spence in the early weeks of the season, not making life easy for him and not providing the starts the 24-year-old would have expected, just to see how the full-back dealt with it and whether he had truly matured.
Postecoglou's assistant boss Matt Wells had been championing Spence since the summer, believing he was a perfect fit for the Australian's system. All eyes though were on whether the player was ready for it after a series of missteps over the previous two seasons.
The answer was absolutely. There's no doubting Postecoglou was keeping a close eye on Spence and there was certainly some element of testing the former Middlesbrough man after other managers had failed to get a tune out of the talented defender.
Whether it was quite to the extreme of not selecting him in some games when it really would have helped the team to do so, and minimising injury risks to others, seems unlikely, and perhaps there was a bit more to it, but regardless of how Spence got here, he's thriving now and popular within the squad.
Postecoglou should take some credit - and Wells - for getting the best out of him when others couldn't, even if the wait was frustrating for many and Spence should take the rest of the plaudits for the work he's put in behind the scenes to get himself into this position. Long may it continue.
Brilliant Bergvall
As with Archie Gray, sometimes you have to remind yourself that Lucas Bergvall is only a teenager. He turned 19 a couple of weeks ago yet the last couple of months have probably added a number of years to his football age.
The Swede's display against Ipswich was one of his best yet in terms of his overall contribution. He touched the ball 43 times - less than Spurs' other midfielders - but he was more efficient with it, with an 85% pass success rate and playing three passes into the final third.
He recovered the ball four times, made one interception and won half of his ground duels.
What the stats don't show is his ease on the ball, his effortless comfort in receiving it in tight spots and passing or dribbling it into space. One long dribble almost resulted in the goal of the game as he took multiple players out of the way before finding Dejan Kulusevski. His fellow Swede teed up Johnson but his hat-trick was prevented by a last-gasp Ipswich block in the box.
football.london first reported a year ago after Bergvall put pen to paper on his scheduled move from Djurgarden that those who had coached him in Sweden believed it would take him around six months to learn and adapt to the Premier League.
Now here we are six months since the start of the season and the teenager is now one of the first names on the team sheet when it comes to the midfield. He's ahead of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr in the pecking order and he's now more than just an alternative to Maddison because Postecoglou can trust all of his game.
Bergvall is not a luxury player. He's getting physically stronger and he works hard, gets stuck in and is progressive in his play, meaning the Tottenham head coach can use him as a six, in a double pivot or as a number eight in the midfield.
Alongside Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur grew into the game after a sluggish start and executed a pinpoint pass into Son's run for the second goal. The Uruguayan had a big chance himself when he was afforded the opportunity to keep running through space and into the Ipswich box, only for his low shot to be pushed away by the keeper.
Bentancur's fitness is getting to where he wants it to be and he was leading the press when Spurs went through sticky patches and well into the final moments, hunting down the ball in the Tractor Boys' half at 4-1 up.
Both he and Bissouma will be seeing the growth in Bergvall and knowing that he's going to take their jobs if they don't match his performances. Gray will eventually get his chance in midfield although Postecoglou joked with football.london on Friday that he might never with all the injuries his team always has.
The third member of the midfield to start the game was Dejan Kulusevski. The Swede still looks battered mentally as much as physically by a draining season where he was once one of the best around with his displays. He passed the 3,000 minute-mark for the campaign early in the second half at Portman Road.
The quality is still there though in key moments and the 24-year-old's curling finish for his late goal was sublime after a long run that showed the reserves of energy he still possesses.
Postecoglou used the Swede as an example when asked if the mood has changed within the camp with the wins and returning players.
"It was never the mood. It's a different feeling because the lads have got energy. They're recovering from games, they've got an opportunity to train," he said. "They see they've got support and help in terms of other players. Training's been really good the last two weeks. First training sessions we've had for two and a half months, really.
"You saw Kulusevski today, people forget he was unbelievable at the start of the year. The poor guy's just been grinding it for two and a half months. Without any excuse, without any complaints. He's just been going and going.
"You saw today he's got energy, he can run at people, scored a brilliant goal. For all players, I think it's not so much about the mood, it's about the mental state of having an opportunity now to be able to perform at the levels we want to perform at without the challenges we've had to face over the last two and a half months."
Postecoglou was able to bring on Maddison, who got booed by the Portman Road crowd for his Norwich past, to make it an assist and goal since his return from injury while Bissouma replaced Bergvall for the final minutes.
Sarr did not come on and he did look very stiff and struggling to move freely when he came back from one late warm-up with the Mali international as the latter was being called to come on.
The good thing now is that Postecoglou does not need to throw the 22-year-old into the fray regardless every few days and he can have the time to recover. It's all the players have ever needed.
Full throttle attack
The return of Brennan Johnson was more important than many anticipated. Still only 23 - again something plenty forget - he proved once again that few anticipate the movement of the Postecoglou attacking game better than him.
The Wales international sensed that Son was terrifying Godfrey every time he got the ball and that meant something was going to fall his way. It duly did - twice - with two goals right off the Hotspur Way training pitches.
"Brennan's really good for us. We don't really have another front third player like him," Postecoglou told football.london. "He just knows when to arrive at the right time. He's really clinical. It's just great to get him back and get him 60 minutes of football. He's missed a lot of football. I'm sure he'll feel good after today."
Johnson certainly will because those two strikes made it 17 goal involvements in 34 matches and with 14 goals - three clear as Spurs' top scorer this season - he's on target to reach 20 for the campaign.
Yes at 23 there are other aspects to his game that need to improve and evolve, including his confidence in his own abilities - or hamstrings - to race past his man down the flank, but his ability to turn up in key moments and areas to score important goals should not be overlooked.
There's an argument sometimes with certain players that 'if they didn't score goals, they'd offer nothing', which ignores the fact that goals win games and they're the most difficult thing to do in football. The other line used is 'they're all tap-ins', again ignoring the movement and anticipation to get into the positions to score such goals. If they were that easy, everyone would be doing it at the highest level.
Johnson was helped on the day by a fully rested and ready Son, whose flying runs and stepovers reminded anyone who needed it what he can do when he's not run into the ground. Postecoglou was able to take him off after 74 minutes to prevent pushing him to the limit with the Manchester City match in mind.
It was a more difficult day for Mathys Tel, who had little joy as a focal point and managed just 17 touches of the ball on the day. The 19-year-old worked hard, winning the ball back four times, but he needs to continue to strengthen for the physical challenges ahead, winning just one of his duels on the day.
Spurs' full attacking ability will be unlocked again when Dominic Solanke returns, and Richarlison if he can remain fit. That will allow Tel to play to his strengths in other roles while he adapts his body to the rigours of the English game.
Wilson Odobert got more game time and is another player who really excites Postecoglou with his dribbling ability. The Frenchman clenched his fists in the penalty box and roared at the turf as Kulusevski's goal sealed the win. The 20-year-old is back and very much feels a part of things again.
Dane Scarlett made a fitting key contribution to that final goal against the club that ended his unsuccessful loan spell with them last season, making a brave header - with a whack to the head in doing so - to grab his first Premier League assist.
"We had to work hard today, we knew we'd have to work hard," said Postecoglou. "Ipswich are one of the hardest working teams in the league. At home, they're fighting for every point. I thought they started really well in the opening 10-15 minutes with the energy in the stadium, but I thought we did the hard things really well.
"A couple of times in the first half we lost a bit of concentration, in terms of the second ball and duels. Disappointing goal we conceded but aside from that I thought we handled that side of the game really well, which we had to.
"But I always felt we were a threat when we had the ball. Sonny was unplayable in the first half. So good to get Brennan back in those areas where he's always a threat. All four of our goals were quality goals. We had to do the hard things but the fruits of that labour were that our front third play was super, exciting and clinical."
Moving on up
The aim now for Tottenham is to continue motoring up the table. While they went on a good run earlier in the season across all competitions, this is the first time they have won three Premier League games in a row since 2023.
Saturday's win at Portman Road restored them to 12th place after a brief drop following Everton's draw with Manchester United earlier in the afternoon.
The next gap to be closed is the four points to 11th-placed Brentford and then Spurs can start looking above. They are six points from a spot in the top half and nine behind seventh-placed Aston Villa, who have played a game more, and 10 points behind fifth-placed Bournemouth.
They are also 16 points above 17th-placed Ipswich and the drop zone, putting a close to any such fears some might have had over them nearing the wrong end of the table.
"It goes to show you how ridiculous a notion it was to start with. People saying we're safe with 12 games to go, and people are actually talking about it," said Postecoglou of talk of relegation. "That's the hysteria and that's all framed around putting pressure on me and the club.
"I get that, when you're in that position you've got to accept that. For me, it was always about trying... we always had the Villa FA Cup game as a marker for us. We had to get to that space as best we could. We obviously didn't get the outcomes we wanted during that time, but not through a lack of will or effort from the players.
"That was always my primary concern, to protect them and support them, because they gave everything during that period. Now they've got some help, they've got some rest. Like I've said, we're not happy where we are in the league, obviously, it's unacceptable, but we've got an opportunity to address that."
That continues on Wednesday night as Pep Guardiola's City side come to town, with Postecoglou's men having beaten them twice this season and hoping to complete six wins against Manchester sides across this campaign.
City must first host Liverpool on Sunday afternoon with Spurs enjoying the rarity of an extra day to recover over their opponents before a midweek match.
Guardiola's side have their injury problems and it feels like many Premier League clubs are now finding out first-hand, albeit in only bits, what Postecoglou and his team have been dealing with in recent months.
The north London outfit could be in a position to take advantage if they can get most of their squad back fit, with many fresh for the business end of the season.
It comes at a time when Spurs had to remind broadcasters this month of a stance they've had for the past 14 years, that they want to be called Tottenham Hotspur or, in short form, Spurs.
There's no doubt some brand and marketing logic to such a decision even if Spurs is already associated in the USA with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. It's hardly unique, but it's also true that Aston Villa are not called Aston and Wolverhampton Wanderers are not Wolverhampton.
For 99% of people though, Tottenham will remain one of the ways to refer to the football club as well as the area it's based in. Most of the supporters' chants contain the word on its own and they will continue to do so.
Nobody in a suit nudged Daniel Levy on the arm at that fans' forum 18 months ago and told him he was distinctly off-brand when he declared that "We've got our Tottenham back".
Perhaps the Spurs chairman meant the local community rather than the football club that has had its home there for 142 years.
Ange Postecoglou will finally be feeling like he's got his Tottenham - sorry Spurs - back as players return and so do the victories. The coming months will show if it's simply a blip or whether it's all leading to a memorable end to the most challenging of seasons.
Discussing the future of Tottenham's bright young stars & what changes Ange Postecoglou should make for Ipswich. Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham.
