Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has spoken out after his side’s narrow 1-0 win over Luton at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon.
The north London giants saw Yves Bissouma dismissed moments before half time, with the former Brighton star dismissed for a second yellow card.
Tottenham teams of old would potentially have folded.
But this Spurs side seems to have something going for it and picked up all three points following a goal from Micky van de Ven after good work from James Maddison.
Tottenham star Micky van de Ven scored the only goal of the game in Luton win
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Postecoglou was asked by TNT Sports after the game about how his side have developed since their torrid campaign under bosses Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason last term.
But the Australian made it clear he didn’t want to compare.
“I don’t think it is fair to compare to last season, and speak about what happened then,” he said bluntly.
“It is all credit to the players, the way they have bought into what we are trying to do.
“We are really tight as a group, which you see because not only are we winning games but apart from the football which has been good, the resilience we have shown has been great.
“The players want to change the destiny of this football club and that is what they are trying to do on the pitch.
On his substitutions at half time following Bissouma’s dismissal, he added: “I thought we needed a little more control.
“Pierre [Hoijberg] is an experienced player in the middle, and I thought we would still be a threat with Deki [Kulusevski] and Sonny up front.
“They put some balls in the box that we had to deal with.
“But he [Hoijberg] was excellent in there keeping the ball away from our goal.”
Luton tried everything to get past Tottenham, only for the north London giants to dig deep and emerge with all three points. Spurs’ desire, however, their impressed their manager.
“A lot of character and resilience, which the team has showed a lot in the previous games before today,” Postecoglou continued.
“We started really well, should have been three or four up, but then you get the red card and it is a different type of game.
“I thought we held it together really well. They had some opportunities, we had a few of our own.
“In the end we get three points at a difficult place to go.”
Van de Ven also spoke out after the game.
And the Netherlands international was delighted at getting off the mark for Tottenham following his arrival back in the summer.
“An incredible match, I think we showed a great mentality as a team,” he said.
“Really happy I managed to score my first goal for the club and we got a clean sheet too, which is what we want as defenders.”
On scoring his first goal, he added: “I knew James Maddison, always when he goes past the defence, looks for the cut back.
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Micky van de Ven hailed James Maddison after Tottenham beat Luton in the Premier League
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“So I stepped backwards from where I was in the box, the ball came to me and I just tapped it in. An amazing feeling.
“They [his team-mates] were very happy for me.
“On the way to the stadium on the bus Sonny [Son Heung-min] told me: ‘You’re going to score your first goal today.’
“I didn’t think so, I said: ‘Maybe, who knows!’
“But it is perfect because now I have scored my first goal.”
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