Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is enjoying the Lilywhites' best spell of form for a long time, with Spurs sealing a third-consecutive Premier League win for the first time this season after their 4-1 victory at Ipswich.
Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham after 4-1 Ipswich win
The north Londoners were set for a tough task against Kieran McKenna's relegation-threatened side at Portman Road, but they weathered periods of pressure to eventually round off a superb win away from home.
A first-half brace from Brennan Johnson, combined with late goals from in-form defender Djed Spence and star winger Dejan Kulusevski, cancelled out Omari Hutchinson's impressive curled effort to hand Postecoglou's side another much-needed three points on Saturday afternoon.
Tottenham next face off against Man City at home, and the Sky Blues' topsy-turvy form gives Postecoglou some hope they could make it four straight victories against the English champions.
Spurs' head coach heaped praise on his squad after their win at Ipswich, especially their clinical and exciting forward play.
"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," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's triumph at Ipswich.
"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 was that our front third play was super, exciting and clinical."
Another real plus-point from the game was new signing Kevin Danso, who put in another solid performance at the heart of Postecoglou's backline.
There were some doubts surrounding Danso's ability after Tottenham signed him from RC Lens on loan with an obligation to buy for around £21 million, but the Austria international defender is proving his worth at N17.
Kevin Danso emerging as leader behind-the-scenes at Tottenham
As per reliable football.london journalist Alasdair Gold, speaking on his YouTube channel, Spurs did their homework on his personality after hijacking Wolves' winter deal for the 26-year-old.
Gold says that Danso is emerging as a leader behind-the-scenes at Tottenham, with the £25,000-per-week centre-back standing out as a bubbly and strong character among the squad.
“He’s just a really bubbly, strong character Danso and he’s fitted in so well," said Gold. "Often we talk about the talent of players and how well they play but maybe don’t give enough credit when the scouting setup also identifies the character and personality of a player.
“Danso in that mould has been brilliant, as Postecoglou said, to fit into a team as a senior player despite making such a big step up – he just looks like a man determined to grab this opportunity with both hands.
“I think the young group of players are really benefitting from having him there but I also think people like Vicario are benefitting from having another leader and organiser there. I would not bet against Danso in the next 18 months or so becoming part of that leadership group.”