It was mental and emotional


Mauricio Pochettino was not only delighted with harry Winks attitude after he went into the managers office to thank all the coaches who have helped him get this far, but appreciated the importance of getting a win under the belt to rediscover the confidence within the side.

“It was very emotional — in fact it was a game that was very emotional. It was emotional how we celebrated the goal with Harry and at the end. You know that the stress and adrenaline always is high. It’s like a release. 
“I waited for all the players at the end to give them all a big hug. To be honest, I found him, he didn’t find me. But it’s true that I’ve put a lot of pressure on him in the changing room now. 
“This victory can help us to believe again. It is a must-win game in Monaco and to keep this feeling from today it is very important.”

Seven games without a win is a long streak for a side hoping to be successful and mentally it possibly makes player just that little bit more cautious. Mentally players don't want to make a mistake or be the one who gives the ball away so sideways passing becomes a more favoured option. We have seen during those seven games that players are not taking responsibility around the box, they are abdicating responsibility.

The opposite needs to happen, someone should be taking the bull by the horns and try to make the difference. In that respect we have missed Erik Lamela and his return can't come soon enough. Son Heung-min came on and made the difference for us on Saturday, suddenly we had someone putting pressure on their defence, suddenly we had someone prepared to run at them and cause problems, suddenly we had someone trying to make a difference and it is thanks to him that Kane managed to bag two goals.

Christian Eriksen needs to find that in his game, how many attempts at telling passes did he make, how many times was he seen in the opposition box? He is talented but he has to develop his game further.