James Maddison reveals what Postecoglou told Spurs squad at half-time vs Villa
James Maddison reveals what Ange Postecoglou said during the half-time interval on Sunday, which inspired Tottenham to blow Aston Villa out of the water in the second period.
The game followed the usual pattern
Tottenham have made it a habit of going a goal down at home before coming back to win resoundingly, and the same script unfolded against Villa.
Unai Emery’s men kept things tight in the first period, restricting Spurs to a few chances, but they were unable to cope with the home side’s intensity in the second-half and buckled under the pressure.
It was the sort of result that sent a clear message out to the rest of the Premier League and saw Tottenham move to within two points of fourth place.
Ange Postecoglou’s half-time message
Maddison explained that Postecoglou was extremely calm in the interval and insisted that Spurs could blow Villa away if they kept their heads and played their football.
The attacking midfielder pointed out that the Lilywhites have shown that they can put three or four goals past sides in quick succession if things click for them.
Maddison told The Mirror about the 4-1 win: “We turned the screw and they couldn’t live with our intensity. But that’s why the manager at half-time, he stayed so calm because he knows that we have got a chance to blow teams away in quick periods.
“Even at 1-0 down, he’s just like, ‘Get your heads up’. We know we can go and score four goals in a half against any team because that is what we do with our intensity. Thankfully that’s exactly what we did. And we blew them away.”
Reason for Spurs’ improved second-half displays
It is certainly not a coincidence that Tottenham‘s record in the second half of matches is considerably better than their record in the first 45 minutes.
While opposition teams are able to close down the space and prevent Spurs from having too much joy for 45 minutes, they are unable to match the North London side’s intensity for 90 minutes and eventually buckle in the latter stage of matches.
That is exactly what happened to Villa, with three of Tottenham’s four goals coming in the 75th minute or later.
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