Ange Postecoglou warned Tottenham must discover a clinical edge in front of goal if his side are to bridge the gap to the best teams in the Premier League this season. Spurs had to settle for a frustrating 1-1 draw at Leicester despite dominating the game, with the 37-year-old Jamie Vardy equalising with the hosts’ first shot on target and only their second of the match.
Dominic Solanke, who made his Spurs debut following a £65m move from Bournemouth, was among those who squandered chances to double Tottenham’s lead after Pedro Porro opened the scoring with a header. “It was an issue we had last year as well, we need to keep working hard and be a bit more ruthless in front of goal,” Postecoglou said.
“At times we made poor decisions. When we are that dominant we should be out of sight. We do everything to score goals and we didn’t score. The dominance is great but if you don’t score it is meaningless.
“We have to be stronger in our mindset in the front third. To be that wasteful is disappointing. We just weren’t clinical. To get results you need to be a lot more ruthless in the final third. If we don’t, we won’t get the rewards our football should get. If we are going to get to the next level, it is an area we have to improve. We want to bridge the gap to the top teams. The performance of the players in general was very good but we need to turn good performances into outcomes.”
The Tottenham manager said he was encouraged by the fact that Rodrigo Bentancur was conscious and able to communicate after being carried off on a stretcher on 78 minutes. The Uruguay midfielder clashed heads with Abdul Fatawu and then landed heavily at a Tottenham corner. “I don’t have a lot of information but I do know he is fine to communicate,” Postecoglou said.
Vardy signed a new 12-month contract in the summer to extend his stay at Leicester into a 13th season. “I see it as just a number,” Vardy said. “As long as I keep looking after myself and my legs keep feeling great, then I will carry on for as long as is physically possible. I was as fit as a fiddle until I got to about 65 minutes … I have probably adapted [my game] a bit by dropping in but I think the main thing is I am looking after myself recovery-wise to the maximum.”