Postecoglou: 'There's no tricks, it's hard work. I'm not a magician, I'm a football manager'

PREMIER LEAGUE

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 (Kulusevski 46) 

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 2 (Gomes 42, 63) 

HAS ANGEBALL been found out, with coaches as smart as Gary O'Neil now able to overcome Tottenham with a superior tactical plan, or do Spurs simply need to “work harder” as Ange Postecoglou said after his side's dismal defeat by Wolves?

The answer may be somewhere in between, given that Postecoglou is not for turning and also the fact that simply plugging away will not reverse a worrying trend from this Tottenham team in 2024.

Saturday's game followed the pattern of recent games, particularly at home team against a team that the Tottenham of early season form – eight wins in their first ten games – would be expected to beat.

In their previous home games, against Brentford and Brighton, Spurs started slowly, fell behind and rallied after the break, to snatch victory with a high-energy burst against the Bees and then a stoppage time winner against the Seagulls.

The pattern continued on Saturday as Wolves started brighter, took control of the game and a deserved lead through a Joao Gomes header, and then were brought back to parity soon after the break, when Dejan Kulusevski equalised within a minute of the restart.

Instead of pushing on, however, Spurs could not find a way past Wolves' low block of five at the back and three men in front of the defence, and were caught with a sucker punch on the break, as Gomes scored again. It could have been worse as two other swift counter-attacks were foiled, but Wolves left with the spoils and Postecoglou was left to reflect on where it had gone wrong.

Asked if he had anything up his sleeve in order to get his players back to their early season form, the bluff Aussie said: “There's no