The new way forward for Tottenham Hotspur under Ange Postecoglou

SINGAPORE – If Tottenham Hotspur’s training session on Tuesday was anything to go by, the London club’s fans can expect an exciting brand of football under new manager Ange Postecoglou this season.

As the Australian drilled his players in an hour-long session at the National Stadium ahead of

Wednesday’s friendly against the Lion City Sailors

, many among the 6,080 fans were audibly and visibly excited.

The refreshing style, which focuses on moving the ball quickly up the field towards goal, provides a stark contrast to the tedious and dull football under Nuno Espirito Santo, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte in recent seasons.

The Postecoglou era promises to bring a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play, as described by chairman Daniel Levy when the former Celtic manager was announced as Spurs’ new boss in June.

Like the fans, the players are welcoming the new approach. So much so that Spurs midfielder Oliver Skipp cut short his summer break after winning the European Under-21 Championship with England to return earlier than expected for pre-season training.

At the pre-match press conference at the National Stadium, the 22-year-old said working under Postecoglou was “really exciting” as Spurs are being “proactive” in their style of play.

He added: “I think players have enjoyed pre-season. We’ve been working hard but as a player, when you see the balls come out all the time, it’s really exciting.

“We’ve enjoyed working hard but also we’ve tried to implement what the manager wants.

“It’s exciting, being front foot is something a lot of players want, so the whole team has bought into it.

“We need to keep working to improve. There are going to be times when it doesn’t really go right at the start, but for sure pressing and playing forward and being proactive fits my game well.

“There will be opportunities to show this through the season and we’ve got to try and implement these features into our game.”

Whether it was with Brisbane Roar in Australia, in the J-League with Yokohama F. Marinos or with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, Postecoglou’s teams were known for dominating possession and praised for their fluid movements and short passing style.

Hard work, intensity, bravery on the ball and trusting the process – his process – is what Postecoglou will expect from his charges at Spurs.

Tuesday’s session may have been only 60 minutes, but it was every bit as relentless as Postecoglou would expect his team to be, when the English Premier League season kicks off in August.

Colm Walpole, a Spurs fan for the last 40 years, is looking forward to the upcoming campaign.

The 52-year-old, who watched the training session, said: “It is good to see them here and I think most fans are just looking forward to watching this team play attacking football in the coming months ahead. With this new coach, I believe we will get a bucket load of chances in every game.”

Tottenham are in Singapore for the last stage of their pre-season tour to Australia and Asia.

They started with a 3-2 loss to West Ham United in Perth, before Sunday’s match against Leicester City in Bangkok was called off due to a water-logged pitch.

The friendly against the Sailors will be a chance for fans to see how the players are adapting to the changes the Australian hopes to bring.

When asked how he feels his players have been adjusting to his new methods, Postecoglou said: “The lads have been training really well. I’ve been really happy with the response from working hard and in fairly trying conditions, especially the last few days.

“They’ve still pushed through that and their attitude has been first rate in terms of receiving information and training a different way. We’re trying to implement a new playing style and we’re still very much in the embryonic stages, very, very early.

“But we’ve got a long way to go.”