How Spurs can avoid burnout

There is practically nothing more Spursy than playing expansive, exciting football, going on the league’s longest unbeaten run and appearing to banish all thoughts of ‘doing a Spurs’, only then to do a Spurs.

In recent years Tottenham are perhaps the Premier League’s most well-documented chokers, and after making such an impressive start to this season, which has thus far seen plenty of goals, points and the emergence of fabulous young players in Eric Dier and Dele Alli, are they now on the verge of relapsing and rediscovering the sour taste of burnout?

Mauricio Pochettino has been working so hard to instil a feeling of steel and graft at Spurs – and I would add he’s been doing that very successfully – but a fragile, limp performance against Newcastle is threatening to reveal Spurs’ underbelly. The fact that Spurs went 14 games unbeaten is somewhat irrelevant in my opinion; it’s what fans fell back on when performances weren’t quite up to scratch – “At least we’re still unbeaten in X games.”

[linequote]Tottenham have lost 11 points from winning positions this season. That’s the highest in the Premier League.[/linequote]

There’s been a real feeling that this team is different though; that they won’t fold in the way that Spurs teams of the past have done. The Alderweirelds and Diers of this world have brought with them an ‘if in doubt’, ‘no nonsense’ attitude, which seems to have had a really positive impact on other players. Kyle Walker and Jan Vertonghen, for example, aren’t quite as error-prone as they have been.

But the undefeated lifeline isn’t there anymore and now, rightly so, there will be more focus on the performances rather than the numbers. The streak was simply overshadowing everything else. That’s not to say Spurs haven’t been playing well – they have been, in stretches – but they’ve also given away plenty of points.

Opta: Tottenham have lost 11 points from winning positions this season. That’s the highest in the Premier League.

In responding to what was a totally unexpected defeat we’re really going to see just how much mental strength Poch has added to this team. How will they cope with it? How long will it take them to bounce back? Southampton (this Saturday’s fixture) will most likely be licking their lips at the prospect of a Tottenham that has previously fallen short at this stage of the season.

So, Thursday night football and Sunday afternoon football. How does a team really avoid burnout? Is there a recipe for success? It isn’t complete, by any stretch of the imagination, but here’s a list of options at Pochettino’s disposal:

Squad rotation

It’s the most obvious factor, but also the most complicated. Rest some key players every once in a while, allow them to recover their strength and appetite, and set them loose again. Sounds simple enough but there are so many other variables to consider: injuries, match fitness, form, players unhappy with lack of prior playing time, formations and systems – switching around just one of these has the potential to compromise results. Who’d be a manager?

Above it all you need to have confidence in your squad players to do a job. In my opinion this is what makes Arsene Wenger one of the best. He epitomises everything about man management. How often do you hear of an unhappy Woolwich dressing room? Different parts of the Woolwich squad make an impact at various points in a season. You can’t say the same about Spurs; they tend to stick with the main group and drop off for one reason or another.

A player like Harry Kane simply can’t play every game – something Poch must know. This is something Spurs will have to find a way around.

Transfer window

Another potentially helpful solution, but also an extremely hazardous one. Clubs can charge that much more in January because they know the buyers NEED something. Sellers have the bargaining ‘high ground’.

The simple solution to the ‘When do you rest Harry?’ dilemma is to buy a striker who’s going to guarantee you goals beyond the remainder of the season – but therein lies the problem: so many other clubs are looking for the same thing, even the big clubs (Chelsea and Man Utd), which allows the selling club to go with the highest bidder.

[linequote]A player like Harry Kane simply can’t play every game – something Poch must know. This is something Spurs will have to find a way around[/linequote]

That said, don’t rule out the January transfer window as an opportunity to bolster your squad and allow some key players to have a rest. There might be a gem or two that Tottenham can procure – after all, much is being made of the scouting network at Spurs these days.

Training schedule

It’s widely reported that Pochettino’s training methods are gruelling. The impression is that he squeezes every ounce of energy from his players so that when matchday comes along, they’re fitter and faster than the opponent. Of course this goes hand in hand with the high-pressing tactics.

This is all work done behind the scenes and you have to wonder how much he tinkers with the training regime. Is it one rigid structure or is it flexible?

I would suggest the system needs to be very flexible, particularly during the more congested phases of the season. Every player is different and as such will respond differently to each training method.

But one would hope that the work done in pre-season will begin to reap its rewards in terms of effort and distance run.

Spurs are consistently among the top teams in terms of distance covered by players. In fact, the Tottenham team has run a total of 1847.7 km in the Premier League this season – that’s the second highest behind Bournemouth’s players (who have run 1906.2 km).

The trick is not to overwork the players to the degree that it undermines their matchday performance. At the moment it seems as though Pochettino is in control of this.

But let’s be honest, what do any of us know?