The mood in the camp at Spurs was boosted last night by a memorable win in Europe where Tottenham secured their place in the Europa League round of 16 following a 3-0 win over Elfsborg on Thursday evening.
Going into their final league phase fixture knowing that a win would see them secure a top-eight berth, Spurs substitutes Dane Scarlett and Oyindamola Ajayi struck in the second half before Mikey Moore added one of his own in stoppage time to help the north London club pick up a much-needed win. This will be a night that the youngsters will never forget.
Today’s draw occurs at noon UK time, with the Champions League draw going ahead first. There are eight seeded teams – those finishing ninth to 16th – and eight unseeded teams – those finishing from 17th to 24th.
The last few months have been tough for the North London side, with Ange Postecoglou’s win rate having collapsed as so many players – last night 12 were listed as officially being out – unable to participate in any competition. Indeed, 3 players weren’t even registered to take part in the early stages of the Europa League.
The club, and in particular,
Postecoglou will have been praying for some respite, some downtime, but the reality for the beleaguered coach is that his next break won’t be until the season closes. Fans can engineer some free time during a season and enjoy some recreational moments playing
Spinight casino, but the Premier League is far less forgiving.
What does the rest of the season hold for Spurs? On the surface, it is a race to get fit bodies back into action and fill up the starting eleven with first-teamers, for the results can improve, but there will be niggling concerns amongst some supporters because results weren’t great when everyone was available. Some players won’t be back anytime soon, anyway. Spurs have lost Dominic Solanke to an injury, and he isn’t expected to be back in action for another month. Richarlison is fit now, but his injury history doesn’t fill any fan with confidence.
One possible suggestion could be the arrival of
Mathys Tel this month. Fabrizio Romano tweeted in the last few days, “Tottenham have presented their project to Mathys Tel and his agent with game time as key factor.
“Spurs also had a direct meeting with Bayern to guarantee €60 million fee (£50m) in case Tel decides to accept. Mathys needs some time to decide… with several clubs keen and in talks.”
Whatever Spurs do, they certainly can’t afford to simply stand still.