The Mirror

Tottenham 'keeper Guglielmo Vicario slammed the “attitude and fight” of his tame team after a horrible defeat at Crystal Palace.

And Ange Postecoglou admitted his side lost “the battle” against their South London rivals. Jean-Philippe Mateta netted the only goal of the game to see the Eagles lift themselves out of the bottom three.

But Italy star Vicario said: "They fight and I think we lacked that today. We are disappointed because we have to fight. We play good football but maybe sometimes we lack the desire to fight. They show a real desire to fight for something. I think we lacked a bit of energy and to be better than them.

Captain Son Heung-min was out injured but Vicario added: “He is the captain but we have a big squad and we have to deal with that. We have to be able to win games without Son. We lacked in something, not in football, but attitude and fight."

Head coach Ange Postecoglou said his team had fallen into the “trap” of trying to play Palace at their own game .

“It turned into a bit of a battle,” said the Aussie. “They dealt with it better than we did. It was a big game for Palace - they were always going to be desperate to get a win and that happens. It was a game we needed to stay composed and not sort of fall into the trap of trying to play the game ultimately Palace wanted to play.

"It turned into a game that was battle after battle, duels, stop starts, waiting around. We need to be a lot more clear-headed about how we deal with that rather than fall into the trap of doing what we did today.

“I just felt when we had control of things, we could have dealt with it better. We ended up doing silly things, giving away silly fouls and losing our composure, which just adds to that sort of game when you can't get any traction.

"So I think we directed our frustration in the wrong way rather than dealing with it like we should have.”

Like every Tottenham supporter, Ange Postecoglou is excited about the development of Mikey Moore. Understandably so. Moore is as exciting an English attacking prospect as we have seen for some time.

After the Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar, in which Moore was outstanding, Postecoglou tempered his praise with a little caution, warning of over-exposing a 17-year-old to excessive physical rigours too quickly. But he could not disguise his thrill at the prospect of Moore taking centre-stage for Spurs.

“Sometimes, young players are exciting but you can see pitfalls down the road, but I don’t see that with him,” said the Spurs manager. “At 17, you think …what is he going to be like at 21? And hopefully, I am the manager then!”

Considering Spurs had four big-name managers in the five years prior to Postecoglou’s arrival, that is a big hope. But don’t forget, Mauricio Pochettino lasted five and a half years at Tottenham so there is definitely a precedent for the current manager to last that long.

Not only that, it is not hard, after a little less than a year and a half of the Aussie being at the club, to have a strong sense that Spurs and Ange is a very good fit. Ok, their position in the Premier League table - eighth, with four wins from eight games - is unremarkable.

But in each of their three losses - all by a single goal - Spurs have dominated possession and had more attempts on goal than their opponents had. It was hardly an eye-catching victory over AZ Alkmaar but the single goal success was, across all competitions, Tottenham’s eighth win of the season.

In 12 matches, they have scored 27 times. Such is our obsession with Manchester United’s struggles, one of THE performances of the season went heavily under-acclaimed when Spurs won 3-0 at Old Trafford. United might have been poor that day but Spurs were outstanding - and that was without Heung-min Son, who will again be missing when Tottenham face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park today.

Postecoglou has a very decent set of attacking options and Moore, despite the manager trying to keep a lid on expectations (and James Maddison likening the youngster to Neymar does not help), is now very much one of them. They are exciting times at Tottenham.

The obvious caveat to any prediction of Spurs success this season is that exactly one year ago, Tottenham travelled to Selhurst Park, beat Palace 2-1 and were top of the table with 26 points, having won eight of their opening ten Premier League games. They then lost three of their next four and drew the other, eventually finishing fifth in the table.

But despite that implosion at Brighton, this feels like a Spurs team that is progressing under Postecoglou and it feels like he is growing into the job. There were a lot of sarcastic responses when Postecoglou recently said that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club. But there are enough signs from this Spurs team to suggest that trend will continue.

Ange Postecoglou has revealed he is a disciple of Dutch Total Football - and claimed their high defensive line in the 1970s was “even more radical than me”. The Aussie joked: “I've got a bit of a way to go.”

Tottenham welcome AZ Alkmaar tonight looking for a third consecutive win in the Europa League. Yesterday (wed) was the 20th anniversary of the death of double-winning manager Bill Nicholson - and Postecoglou said his “legacy” lives on at the club. But the former Celtic boss said Dutch football has been a “great influence” on his high-pressing footballing Angeball philosophy since staying up to watch Johan Cruyff and his fellow Dutch masters as a schoolboy.

“The whole 'Total Football' era was when I first fell in love with the game and the 74 World Cup, probably the pinnacle of 'Total Football', was also Australia's first time in a World Cup,” said Postecoglou, 59.

“At 2am I was up watching a grainy black and white TV and fascinated by the way the Dutch went about their football. Johan Cruyff I think was a genius in many respects, not just as a footballer but also a football thinker, so a great influence. That sort of filtered into Australian football, we've had Guus Hiddink who took us to the next World Cup and many Dutch coaches have come through there.

"People talk about my high line but watch the Dutch in 1974 and you'll see something even more radical than me. I've got a bit of a way to go! I've always loved Dutch football and followed it keenly.”

Dutchman Micky van de Ven said he was rejected as a youth by AZ Alkmaar where his father - TV star Marcel - still lives. And the steaks will be high tonight as his favourite eatery is De Koning steakhouse in the North Holland city famous for its cheese market.

"The owner of this restaurant is a good mate of my dad's,” he said. “I don't think I will get a discount if I play well tomorrow because then probably we will beat them!”

Postecoglou said captain Son Heung-min felt “a bit sore after the weekend” but the captain was always going to be rested against AZ. Richarlison is set to lead the attack.

Up front for the Dutch will be former Spurs striker Troy Parrott, who made four appearances in 2019-20 under Jose Mourinho. The Republic of Ireland star, 22, played on loan at Excelsior Rotterdam last season before joining AZ in July.

“I don't think I have any regrets,” said Parrott. “I am grateful for how the club treated me, helping me to grow up as a person and a player.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been fined £20,000 after accepting a charge of failing to control their players during Saturday's derby win against West Ham.

West Ham and winger Mohammed Kudus have until Thursday to respond to the FA after been charged with violent conduct by the FA following his tantrum in Saturday's defeat. Spurs admitted the charge immediately after it was received and received a swift punishment but West Ham's response remains unclear.

Ghana star Kudus faces the prospect of an even longer ban after being investigated for "acting in an improper manner" following the offence that he was sent off for.

Kudus has already been handed a three-game suspension that keeps him out of action until after the next international break but that could end up being tripled - such as when Joey Barton received a nine-game ban in 2012 for hitting out during a QPR game versus Manchester City.

Kudus was shown a red card, which was upgraded by VAR following an initial yellow, after kicking out and then shoving Spurs defender Micky van de Ven in the face during Spurs' 4-1 win.

The Ghana star then pushed Pape Matar Sarr in the face, while Richarlison hit the deck after charging in to Kudus during an incident involving more than a dozen players. The FA confirmed on Tuesday that both clubs and Kudus had been dealt charges.

"Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have been charged following their Premier League match on Saturday, 19 October," an association spokesperson said.

"Tottenham Hotspur allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 82nd minute. West Ham United allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way at the same time.

"Mohammed Kudus allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct after the offence that he was sent off for. Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have until Thursday, 24 October, to provide their responses."

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said he will speak to Kudus about the incident but claimed that he did not see the altercations.

“It's not good for him, it's not good for the club, for the team,” Lopetegui said. “But I can't say anything more because I don't see the action.”

Max Kilman said West Ham only had themselves to blame for their second-half horror show. Lopetegui’s team delivered an exhibition in defensive disorganisation before Kudus was sent off for violent conduct.

But with Hammers fans growing increasingly agitated by their new head coach’s failure to provide consistency, summer signing Kilman conceded: “It wasn’t good enough. There was a spell in the second half when we let the game slip.

“It was a bad spell for us. We lost concentration as a team at important moments and let them get ahead of us. “Obviously it’s not good enough for the level we are and the quality we have. We need to be doing much better. We need to be much better than that and make sure we’re ready for the next one.”

West Ham, already trapped in a lower mid-table morass, host Manchester United next Sunday and Kilman added: "For sure we need to get our heads down and put in a good performance next week.

"We need to compete with the best teams in the league and we have the quality to do that. We need to keep going and hopefully things will change."

West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus has been charged with violent conduct by the FA following his tantrum in Saturday's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

And the Ghana star faces the prospect of an even longer ban after being investigated for "acting in an improper manner" following the offence that he was sent off for.

Kudus has already been handed a three-game suspension that keeps him out of action until after the next international break but that could end up being doubled.

He was shown a red card, which was upgraded by VAR following an initial yellow, after kicking out and then shoving Spurs defender Micky van de Ven in the face during Spurs' 4-1 win.

The Ghana star then pushed Pape Matar Sarr in the face, while Richarlison hit the deck after charging in to Kudus during an incident involving more than a dozen players.

And the FA have now confirmed that both clubs and Kudus have two days to respond to the charges.

"Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have been charged following their Premier League match on Saturday, 19 October," an association spokesperson said.

"Tottenham Hotspur allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 82nd minute. West Ham United allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn't behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way at the same time.

"Mohammed Kudus allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct after the offence that he was sent off for. Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have until Thursday, 24 October, to provide their responses."

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said he will speak to Kudus about the incident but claimed that he did not see the altercations.

“It's not good for him, it's not good for the club, for the team,” Lopetegui said. “But I can't say anything more because I don't see the action.”

Max Kilman said West Ham only had themselves to blame for their second-half horror show. Lopetegui’s team delivered an exhibition in defensive disorganisation before Kudus was sent off for violent conduct.

But with Hammers fans growing increasingly agitated by their new head coach’s failure to provide consistency, summer signing Kilman conceded: “It wasn’t good enough. There was a spell in the second half when we let the game slip.

“It was a bad spell for us. We lost concentration as a team at important moments and let them get ahead of us. “Obviously it’s not good enough for the level we are and the quality we have. We need to be doing much better. We need to be much better than that and make sure we’re ready for the next one.”

West Ham, already trapped in a lower mid-table morass, host Manchester United next Sunday and Kilman added: "For sure we need to get our heads down and put in a good performance next week.

"We need to compete with the best teams in the league and we have the quality to do that. We need to keep going and hopefully things will change."

Former Tottenham defender Ledley King admits he should have earned more England caps but was stopped by his long-suffering injuries.

Spurs legend King, who prominently captained the club from 2005 up until his retirement in 2012 and spent his entire playing career in north London, was plagued by infamous chronic knee issues throughout his career - which many believe prevented him from achieving his true potential.

The defender often didn’t train to reserve his body for matches and hung up his boots at just 31 due to such problems that began affecting his day-to-day even as far back as when he was just a teenager. He played for England just 21 times.

Now, King has admitted that he feels he should have earned more caps for his country, but was prevented from doing so by both the physical and mental torment that such injuries caused him.

“I still feel like there should have been more [England caps], really,” King stated, opening up on the Seaman Says podcast brought to you by Betway.

“During that time, I kind of went through a period where I was really struggling with my knee, so for about three years, I kind of wrote off playing for England.

“They would often ask me to meet up in the camp, but I didn't feel confident enough in my body to go and do that until the 2010 World Cup, where I kind of come out retirement, although I never really retired from England. This was four years into not training.

“My knee would just blow up when I played a game, so during the week, I was in the gym, in the swimming pool, just trying to get the swelling down to a point where I could actually bend my knee again. By the time I could bend it again, it was a weekend; that was the next game.”

It wasn't just the physical side of such chronic injuries that affected King’s playing career, but also the mental anguish that came with often feeling as though he had let both his club and national team down by missing training sessions and matches.

“It was tough,” King added. “Any sports person will tell you injuries are the toughest part to deal with. So to have that over a five-year period of just constantly not training, not being with your teammates, it was tough.

“Now I look back at it, I think, mentally, I was probably a little bit depressed. Not being able to have that enjoyment, just being there. But at the time you just get on with it, don't you? You do what you can.

“I knew that I still had something to give once I was there. That was what kept me going. It was the crowd as well. I wasn't sure whether I was going to be playing or not from one week to the next, and when I heard my name called out, the reaction I got from that was something that motivated me just to be out there as much as possible.

“That was the motivation – just keep going, because I always said that once I felt like I wasn't making the team better then it was time to finish. I'm going through all this for a purpose of making a difference on the match day.”

James Maddison has been warned he needs to step up his game if he to keep his place in Tottenham's team.

The midfielder was taken off at half-time of Spurs' win over West Ham on Saturday. Maddison started the game, which was all square at 1-1 heading into the break following Dejan Kulusevki's equaliser after Mohammed Kudus' opener for the Hammers.

As the half-time whistle blew, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was spotted pointing to Pape Sarr to tell him he was coming on. Maddison was the man to make way, despite providing the assist for Kulusevski's strike.

It proved to be an inspired decision though, with Spurs going on to score three unanswered goals to claim a dominant 4-1 win. And former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino believes Maddison is now in danger of losing his starting spot.

"He [Postecoglou] has put the challenge of changing Tottenham ’s mentality and notoriously soft centre on his shoulders. I liked that he was prepared to make a big call and withdraw James Maddison at half-time," Cascarino told The Times.

"It would have sent a message to every player that their place is not assured after the Brighton debacle. Maddison was a big signing last year and I have no doubt he would have taken the timing of the substitution personally. Postecoglou can manage the situation.

"But Maddison may reflect on his delivery, especially from corners, and work rate. Maddison is no longer a promising young player. He turns 28 next month and needs to impose himself on matches. He finds himself out of the England squad and his starting place for Spurs is no longer guaranteed."

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who was man of the match in Tottenham's win over West Ham? Comment below.

Postecoglou was adamant he had made the right decision when speaking after the game. The Australian hailed the performance of Sarr, who he insisted played a key role in Spurs winning the midfield battle.

"We needed more running power in midfield and Pape [Sarr] has lots of that, bags of energy and running. He really helped us to get control of the midfield and that gave us a good platform to go forward," Postecoglou told Match of the Day.

"Our general play improved from there and we looked dangerous going forward. We knew there had been a bit of an arm wrestle and we always back ourselves to keep going at the intensity we always do and upping it and taking the game to West Ham.

"We knew that putting them under pressure here at home we would eventually get there. We had to fight hard in the first half. Going a goal down wasn't ideal but we clawed our way back into it, and it is not easy.

"Second half we were outstanding. We upped the tempo and played some quality football, defended when we needed to and got our finishing right. We want to be that sort of side that creates lots of chances."

Cool-headed Dejan Kulusevski knew there would only be one result from the moment he equalised.

West Ham ’s second-half surrender, a shameful 20-minute spell that must raise serious questions of Julen Lopetegui’s wider strategy, certainly helped.

But after the pain and embarrassment of Spurs’ collapse at Brighton a fortnight ago, the Swedish star felt a rampage was – if not inevitable – at least an expected reaction.

Tottenham ’s brilliance and West Ham’s complete loss of control may have contributed equally to this derby’s decisive spell. But Kulusevski’s succinct summary was: “At 1-1 I knew we were in good hands.”

The message was that their Brighton horror show can be cast off as an anomaly. This, on the other hand, was a more accurate display of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs.

At times on Saturday their attacking was a joy to behold – even if their opponents’ ability to punish themselves became impossible to ignore.

With Heung-min Son returning from a three-week absence, showing no sign of rustiness, and Kulusevski thriving in his increasingly familiar central midfield role, Tottenham appeared destined for three points once the latter levelled after 36 minutes.

There were some difficult moments at the beginning and the decision to swap James Maddison for Pape Matar Sarr at the break paid off handsomely despite initially being met with arched eyebrows.

Yet Kulusevski suggested that when a team is defending as deep as West Ham from early on, Tottenham know that their task will become straightforward once their opponents’ concentration wanes.

“They spent a lot of energy [defending in the first half] and usually the second half is a lot easier. It was that today also,” said Kulusevski.

As for his own vibrant performance, in the thick of things rather than seeking to do damage from out wide, he added: “That's my position. I've taken huge steps.

“I feel free. And when I feel free I can do what I have been doing all my life – scoring goals and creating chances and helping my team-mates.”

Son, too, was devastatingly effective on his return from a hamstring injury. His shot led to Tottenham’s third, even though it went down as an Alphonse Areola own goal, while he scored the fourth and then struck the post moments later.

At the point of Spurs’ attack, meanwhile, stood Dominic Solanke. On paper it may look suboptimal for a centre forward not to find the net in a 4-1 win.

But the £65m man was not upset because, he insisted, the collective performance being so good mattered far more.

“I feel like I helped the team in different aspects,” said Solanke. “It’s important we contribute in different ways. I didn’t get a goal, which is frustrating for me, but it was a great game and if we keep playing like this we’ll be in a good place.”

Spurs face Crystal Palace on Sunday, following a Europa League clash with AZ Alkmaar, but Kulusevski stressed that there remains room to grow. “We all have to improve,” he said. “Especially on the defensive side.”

Still, this was an important result for Postecoglou. Tottenham had not won against their three most important neighbours – Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham – under the Australian before this weekend. And a return of 18 points from 15 London derbies was far from ideal.

“We just have to win every game,” Kulusevski added. “For me it doesn't matter who the opponent is. It's all three points. But I'm happy we made the fans happier.”

Mohammed Kudus could be hit with an extended ban for his spectacular meltdown.

The West Ham winger, who had scored the opening goal, left three Tottenham players on the floor after losing his head in Saturday's defeat.

He first kicked Micky van de Ven in the back before shoving the defender in the face. Kudus followed that up by pushing Pape Matar Sarr in the head, while Richarlison was knocked over after running into the Ghana international during a subsequent melee.

Kudus was sent off for violent conduct relating to the initial Van de Ven incident. But the FA might decide to punish him further - similar to when QPR ’s Joey Barton was handed a nine-game ban for three incidents against Manchester City in 2012.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said he will speak to Kudus about the incident but claimed that he did not see the altercations.

“It's not good for him, it's not good for the club, for the team,” Lopetegui said. “But I can't say anything more because I don't see the action.”

Max Kilman said West Ham only had themselves to blame for their second-half horror show.

Lopetegui’s team delivered an exhibition in defensive disorganisation before Kudus was sent off for violent conduct.

But with Hammers fans growing increasingly agitated by their new head coach’s failure to provide consistency, summer signing Kilman conceded: “It wasn’t good enough. There was a spell in the second half when we let the game slip.

“It was a bad spell for us. We lost concentration as a team at important moments and let them get ahead of us. “Obviously it’s not good enough for the level we are and the quality we have. We need to be doing much better.

“We need to be much better than that and make sure we’re ready for the next one.”

West Ham, already trapped in a lower mid-table morass, host Manchester United next Sunday and Kilman added: "For sure we need to get our heads down and put in a good performance next week.

"We need to compete with the best teams in the league and we have the quality to do that. We need to keep going and hopefully things will change."

Tottenham defender Radu Dragusin will not push to leave the club in January - despite his lack of minutes.

The Romanian centre-back, who joined Spurs in a £26.7million deal from Genoa last winter amid strong interest from Bayern Munich, has made just one start in the Premier League so far this season.

Dragusin was also dealt another unwanted setback last month following a tough start to life in north London when he was sent off after just seven minutes in the 3-0 Europa League victory over Qarabag.

A number of Italian sides including Napoli are monitoring his situation closely, however, the 22-year-old remains committed to Tottenham and will not seek a mid-season exit, even if he remains out of the side.

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven remain Ange Postecoglou's first-choice centre-back pairing but there is confidence Dragusin will still receive his fair share of minutes in both Europe and respective cup competitions this season.

Sources close to the player indicate the Romania international, who scored for his country in a 3-0 win over Cyprus last weekend, is solely focused on showcasing his best on the pitch as he looks to strengthen his case for a starting berth.

It comes after Dragusin's agent, Florin Manea, warned at the back end of last season that his client would not sit around on the bench forever as he ordered Postecoglou to consider a change of shape to a three-man defence.

Manea told Radio CRC in May: “The coach said many times he does not want to play with a three-man defence, evidently he knows best, but Tottenham concede a ton of goals. Playing with three gives more security.

“I also think Tottenham concede a lot of goals from set plays, so Dragusin would be very helpful due to his power in the air, he used to get all the headers at Genoa.”

Dragusin's decision to join Spurs was his own personal choice after he opted to snub an offer from German giants Bayern Munich.

Napoli, who were the reigning Serie A champions, were amongst his suitors during that time and their interest is yet to have waned despite a change of manager following the appointment of Antonio Conte.

Despite his Qarabag red card, the former Genoa ace was only hit with a one-match suspension which he has already served against Hungarian side Ferencvaros. It means he will be available for selection, fitness permitting, to face AZ Alkmaar in the competition next Thursday.