Ange is a breath of fresh air for Spurs

Federico Fellini was an Italian filmmaker of some distinction, with the world-famous La Dolce Vita among his finest pieces of work.

When discussing how to communicate to an audience, he once said: "A different language is a different vision of life."

Fellini was uttering those remarks in regard to speaking different languages, yet even if we try to communicate in the one tongue, the way in which we use our words can have a significant impact.

In a sporting setting, language is critically important to the mood within a dressing room.

How many times have you been in a dressing room when the temperature among the players may be a little bit away from where it needs to be, leading to a coach or manager to roar 'Come on lads, we're f****** dead!"? Apparently, according to the top psychologists, this is the exact opposite of what should be uttered.

The website Spurs Web is one, as the name suggests, dedicated to following, documenting and reporting on the travails of Tottenham Hotspur.

On Sunday evening, shortly after the north London club played out a thrilling 3-all draw with reigning champions Manchester City in the Premier League, the website offered this assessment of the 90 minutes at the Etihad.

“Whatever Ange said at half-time, it did the trick. The Spurs players came out and made life really difficult for City, which is evident in the fact the home side failed to register a shot for around 35 minutes in the second half.

“The spirit and belief in this Tottenham side right now is unlike anything I’ve seen at the club in a very, very long time.” Sunday’s remarkable encounter was a neat encapsulation of Spurs under Postecoglou.

Adventurous and brave, they’re also naive and error prone. Those traits, you could argue, have been the hallmark of Spurs’ sides over the last number of decades.

In the sixth minute at the Etihad, team captain Heung Min Son finished off a superb counter attack to give his side the lead; three minutes later, the same player was turning the ball into his own net to level matters up.

Under the cosh against last season’s all-conquering treble winners, Spurs still managed to conjure up a late, late equaliser through Dejan Kulusevski to earn a morale boosting point.

The last time Tottenham played out a 3-3 draw in the Premier League was in mid-March of this year, yet in totally different circumstances.

Leading 3-1 at lowly Southampton, Spurs capitulated to such an extent that they blew the two-goal lead and coughed up two precious points.

After that match their then manager, the highly rated Italian Antonio Conte, launched an astonishing tirade against his players in the post-match press conference during which he told the assembled media his team was filled with "selfish players'. I see players that don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart [into the match].” Conte was then asked why Spurs were repeatedly performing poorly. The response left little room for the imagination.

“Why? Because they are used to it here, they are used to it.

"They don’t play for something important, yeah. They don’t want to play under pressure, they don’t want to play under stress. It is easy in this way. Tottenham’s story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something, but why? The fault is one for the club.” Unsurprisingly, Conte didn’t last too much longer in the job, becoming the latest in a long list of reputable coaches who failed to improve the club's fortunes and coming soon off the back of Jose Mourinho who also left the club under a cloud of underachievement.

Conte and Mourinho are two of the most successful coaches the game has seen in the last 30 years, yet their philosophy of prioritising defensive solidity wasn’t to the liking of many Spurs fans, nor the players.

Whatever about their results in recent seasons, Spurs’ spirit was truly at rock bottom after Conte’s acrimonious departure earlier this year and, if reports are to be believed, Postecoglou wasn’t top of their shopping list either when they went in search of a successor. Yet, they prised the Australian away from Celtic. Since his appointment, they’ve arguably been the best team to watch in the Premier League.

In light of Conte’s comments criticising players earlier this year, Postecoglou’s remarks after Sunday’s match were interesting.

When asked what his message was to his players at half-time, he said anger was far from his mind despite the fact that his side went in trailing by two goals to one, with both goals the result of pretty slack defending.

“It was more trying to get the players to believe in themselves rather than anger at them,” he told Sky Sports.

“I’m always mindful that from where I am on the touchline it seems simple, but out there against an unbelievable team it is difficult.

“It was a case of whatever happens I will take responsibility, particularly if it doesn’t go well.

“But just go out there and believe in yourselves.” Postecoglou’s team are fifth in the table, yet given the huge swell of positivity surrounding the club right now, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re higher. For all the negativity around Conte, Spurs were actually a place higher at the same stage last season.

But the mood around the club now is one of optimism and enthusiasm.

Conte’s team played with fear and targeted containment of the opposition over their own exploits; Postecoglou’s side, with limited resources at the moment due to injuries, are playing an expansive game with possession and adventure at the heart of their endeavour. And, because the players are encouraged to express themselves, they are playing with a degree of confidence wholly lacking under previous managers.

In their 15 competitive matches so far this season, Spurs have scored two or more goals in ten of those fixtures (they’ve conceded two or more in five of them). Their goalscoring exploits are all the more impressive without the services of club legend Harry Kane, who left in the summer.

Sure, Tottenham may not make the top four. For all their positivity, they’re still only three points in front of Manchester United, who continue to underwhelm. And while Spurs are great to watch, they’ve also shown a capability to implode spectacularly, as evidenced by conceding two stoppage time goals to lose 2-1 to Wolves last month, while they also went down to nine men in losing 4-1 to Chelsea.

Yet if you were to advise someone who hadn’t watched the Premier League before about who they should take a look at to see what it’s all about, Spurs right now would probably top the list.

Why are they now playing with such a sense of freedom? Postecoglou and Conte both speak English - but talk two different languages.

Postecoglou is saying all the right things.