Tottenham should persevere with attacking approach, say Ossie Ardiles, Ledley King

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur and Ange Postecoglou should not rein in the high-risk, high-reward approach that proved so successful in the first few weeks of the English Premier League season

despite recent defeats,

former players Ossie Ardiles and Ledley King said.

Spurs were unbeaten in their first 10 league games under their Australian manager, making him the first person to win the first three Manager of the Month awards available to him, but have slipped from top spot to fifth after three straight defeats.

Postecoglou has implemented an exciting brand of football and stuck by it resolutely, playing a high line during the 4-1 home defeat by Chelsea, even after going down to nine men.

Pundits have urged Tottenham to play more cautiously with a string of injuries having decimated the squad, but Ardiles said it would not make sense for Postecoglou to change his ways now.

“Ange is going to persevere with his philosophy of football and I believe that is absolutely crucial,” said the 71-year-old, who played for Spurs from 1978 to 1988 and managed them from 1993 to 1994.

In the

2-1 loss at home to Aston Villa on Nov 26,

Son Heung-min had three goals disallowed for offside, while Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro hit the post.

“The approach that we had against Aston Villa, it was absolutely brilliant. We were there to win the game and this is what Tottenham always represents and this season is going to carry on being like that,” added Ardiles.

Former Spurs captain King highlighted the opportunities the team created in all three of their league losses, including a 2-1 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers, saying: “We played well in two of the defeats. I don’t think the manager needs to change anything at this point. The difficult part is that we have many players missing and the Premier League is a very unforgiving league.

“But I believe the manager trusts his philosophy, he’s been successful that way and he should stick with it.

Tottenham’s previous season ended in chaos with manager Antonio Conte’s acrimonious exit, followed by unremarkable interim stints for Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason, during which the club finished eighth.

However, this term there is a sense of optimism around Spurs, which Ardiles attributed to the new manager, saying Postecoglou had lifted the mood at the club since joining from Celtic in June.

“Since the moment he arrived, Ange has been a breath of fresh air,” the 1978 World Cup winner with Argentina said.

“He has changed everything. The atmosphere in the club was not that nice, to be perfectly honest, and he changed immediately all that. He has done a wonderful job in a lot of respects.”

King stressed that Spurs fans have faith in Postecoglou and his players, adding: “They believe that he’ll be able to turn things around once players start coming back and that we’ll be in a good spot at the end of the season.” REUTERS