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What The Gaffer Said
It was an incredible game of football and it was a magnificent start for the fans, although I'm not sure it was the same for us in the dug-out.
It was a key moment when Adam Johnson equalised straight away after the Spurs goal, because if it was 1-0 for a long time it would have been a totally different game.
I think it was exciting to watch and I thought Spurs were very good today. They have quality around the park - power, speed and technical ability.
They made it very difficult for us but we are a proper team and we try hard - we always go on and try to get something from the game.
The most important part today was that we fought back and got a point which is very good for us.
You need to put yourself in there and apply pressure to get something from the game, we conceded one unfortunate goal but we got back into the game in a similar way.
I am really pleased with the team and really pleased to see us take something from the game; we fought back and found solutions today.
There are situations during the game when you can help the team but it is up to the players and today it is important to realise how the players feel, how they made decisions and how they took that control.
We tried our best and that is who we are, I do not think every game is going to be like this one but I am sure it will bring plenty of positives and good things for the future.
The idea now is to rest because I can tell you there are a few very heavy legs in there and we need to prepare 100% for the next game.
Resilience Clear For All To See
Some people almost see this defence of the lads as a cop-out, but I fail to see how anybody can't think that last season's side would have zero points from our opening four league games. It may be the tiniest of positives in a league campaign that is yet to register a win, but having the mental resolve to claw back draws from the jaws of defeat isn't to be sniffed at.
Ultimately, we're gonna need more. But whereas last season I'd have felt like leaving for the pub as soon as Spurs went 2-1 up, this time around I genuinely had hope; hope bordering on belief that we'd get something from the game. A side that refuses to lie down and die may be a basic quality to have but it's an underrated one.
Options From The Bench
This is another factor that the Negative Nancies dismiss as some sort of straw clutching. But, again, last season would have likely resulted in a Colback or a Gardner being thrown onto the field out of sheer desperation. In Gomez, Giacherrini and Buckley, we had three players who came on and genuinely influenced the game.
Because of the ridiculous tempo of the first half, there were players from both sides dying on their feet towards the end. Having fresh, purposeful footballers available to aid in this problem is very welcome indeed.
The Premier League Is Bloody Tough
Maybe a fact that we sometimes forget. It's easy to look at the reshaping of your own side and be happy with it, to almost subconsciously dismiss the idea that other sides strengthen and improve too.
The world watched Liverpool take Spurs apart the other week and yet they came here and started to do the same to us. We couldn't cope with the speed at which they moved the ball 30 yards from goal and Lee Cattermole for once often found himself pulled out from where we needed him.
As we saw in the Q.P.R loss, there is no place to hide in this league, as clichéd and basic as that sounds. If peope think we can turn up at Turf Moor next weekend and give anything other then 100% commitment and desire, then they're sadly mistaken. They'll have their eye on us as a team they can beat and it's time we turned up for one of these games. Frankly.
