It's not the first time we've seen Tottenham Hotspur adopt a different style in the last month, but their trip to the Gtech Community Stadium saw Ange Postecoglou set his side up in a different manner compared to normal.
With Spurs playing every midweek in between their conventional Premier League or Emirates FA Cup weekend slot, as they have done in all but two weeks since the international break in November, it became quite apparent that their normal high press, possession-based football approach would be simply untenable at some stages, especially with the squad on its last legs.
Brentford produced wave after wave of attacks, with 37 crosses towards Antonin Kinsky's penalty area. Nevertheless, the defence, marshalled by the ever-reliable Ben Davies and 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray, stood firm and kept a clean sheet to spur the side onto victory.
"Look... how do I say this without repeating myself and it not sounding like an excuse... It's very difficult for a group of players to play Thursday and Sunday and maintain energy and levels. What they're doing is giving maximum effort. And maximum effort in a game like today means you can't be sharp and really dynamic with and without the ball. It's just impossible. They're human beings, they're not robots. People want to dismiss it, they want to talk about excuses. But that's the reality. I know the reality. These guys are giving everything.
"We knew today it wasn't going to be a game where we could go out there and dominate. Because Brentford had a week to prepare for this. We had 50-something hours. With the same group of players. I think with that context, the performance was outstanding."
When posed a direct question regarding the number of crosses the hosts delivered on Sunday afternoon, the former Celtic head coach was complimentary of his makeshift backline, which includes Djed Spence, a right-back who is playing at left-back and a midfielder in his first top-flight season playing at central defence.
"Yeah, difficult place to come, difficult place to win at, but also a difficult place to keep them out because the way they play and the way they set up, you have to defend your box it doesn't matter how you play. They're getting throw-ins into the box, set pieces, crosses, you're just going to have to do that irrespective of how you want to tactically approach it, and I just thought the lads handled that awfully well.
"We knew we had to. It was going to be key for us, nullifying their threats, and the lads were brilliant and I still felt we had the quality of our football to hurt them the other way."
Nothing to sweat on with Dutchman
Speaking after the 2-0 victory against Brentford, Postecoglou confirmed that centre-back Micky van de Ven is fine and his absence from the squad at the Gtech was planned,
The Dutch defender made a return to action during Thursday night's win at home to IF Elfsborg in the UEFA Europa League after 7 weeks out with a hamstring injury, however, he was not included in the squad for the trip to West London on Sunday.
The news sparked a reaction from Tottenham fans, with a huge Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on the horizon against Liverpool on Thursday.
"The plan was maybe to play him 45 again today. But then we had a think about it, spoke to Micky as well. And I thought, I'd rather he has another full week of training, get ready for Thursday night, that's a big game for us as well.
"We had Djed back today, which gave me some comfort that we could cover him. He was never going to play more than 45 minutes today.
"I just felt, after discussing it with the medical team and with Micky as well, as desperate as he is to play, I just think we've got to be really smart about how we integrate him back into the team. And obviously Thursday night's a big game for us. And again, having a week of training, hopefully we'll get him ready for that."
Outfield reinforcements at last
Just a few hours before kick-off against Brentford, Tottenham confirmed the signing of Austrian centre-back Kevin Danso from Ligue 1 side RC Lens, on an initial loan with an obligation to buy.
The defender, formerly of both MK Dons' and Reading's academy, will be a welcome and timely addition to the side, who have been on barebones since November, and Postecoglou offered his thoughts on the 26-year-old after the game with The Bees.
"Great to get Kevin in. We desperately need a defender, but getting him is great because he's a great fit for us. He's had a strong career, but he's at an age now where he really wants to kick on.
"He's got all the attributes we look for, he's really strong one-on-one, he's quick, he's dynamic, he wants to play on the ball, so, and like I said he's just at a stage of his career where he's really determined to kick on now and make an impact. So really pleased, I think it'll be a lift for the whole group."
During the victory over Elfsborg in the week, Spurs' defensive injury crisis took yet another bad turn. Despite welcoming back van de Ven, Radu Dragusin was the latest to hit a blockade, with the Romanian looking to hyper-extend his knee and subsequently being subbed off just 20 minutes after coming on.
The signing of Danso means that The Lilywhites will instantly replace their only fully-fit out and out centre back, but with speculation that his season could be over, it was crucial to secure the services of the Austrian.
"With Radu, we'll probably have more information tomorrow. It doesn't look good, but I think he's seeing specialists tomorrow and we'll have more information then."