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Dominating the opponents was the approach at Tottenham last campaign but now the focus is on preventing goals at the other end of the stadium.

The recent narrow win against Villarreal in Tottenham's UCL opener was the fourth consecutive clean sheet they had kept in the first five games this season.

Conversely, they had managed just one at the comparable stage of last campaign, when the more forward-thinking the former boss was in control.

“We talked a lot about 'clean sheet mentality' this year because we let in a lot last year,” Spurs midfielder one of the stars stated.

Defender Van de Ven noted: “I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Structure-wise we are positioned really good and we all know what to do, so we're a hard team to beat.”

The strategy of Tottenham against their opponents was in clear contrast to the free-flowing football played under Postecoglou.

They were much more cautious, even after being gifted a fourth-minute opener thanks to a disastrous mistake by the opposition goalkeeper their number one.

Tighter Defensive Line but at an Offensive Cost?

Spurs have let in only one goal to date - in the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.

That is a major improvement on how they started the last campaign, when they let in five in their first five games.

In the domestic league they have kept three already - meaning they are just two away from matching their total for the entire of last season.

The more solid platform is possibly coming at a cost, however, with their sole attempt on target against Villarreal the second occasion in their last three games they had produced such a low number efforts on goal.

The head coach recognizes this is an area that has to improve.

“We have a very good platform to stand on in terms of our backline setup and I think it's effective and we gave little away,” he said.

“We're playing in the UCL against a good team. Also, I knew we took a step forward against the Hammers, in attack is the area we need to improve.”