Spurs boss thrilled by contribution of his new gem - and the fresh mood created by his team
Ange Postecoglou had a wealth of positives to take from his first game in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - but maybe one shone even brighter than all the others.
It is too early in the season to get too carried away, but the manner of Saturday's 2-0 home win over Manchester United was what stood out - swashbuckling front-foot football that may have been flawed, but which carried the hallmarks of a team that wants to go for glory.
The new Australian boss was famed for that at Celtic, where it was arguably much easier to implement such an approach. For Tottenham, it will require a shift in culture after the previous three managers, who all favoured caution.
It was flawed and at times Spurs rode their luck to get the better of Eric ten Hag's outfit, but their approach had home fans right behind them and the team's new ethic was epitomised by Pape Matar Sarr, who scored the first and was prominent throughout before receiving a great ovation when he was subbed off.
"He's been great the moment I arrived," said Postecoglou of Sarr. "He's got a great energy about him. He's one of those midfielders that really causes opposition problems because whether its his running with the ball or without the ball, he runs aggressively and is a great young player for us.
"First half we were a bit edgy and gave the ball away cheaply, but at the same time it's no surprising. We' had a couple of 20-year-olds out there and 23-year-olds and it's a really young team but I saw really encouraging signs at the end of the half and we came out with great energy for the second half.
"The second half we showed exactly how we want to be. We could have gone into our shells second half. It's a great start A fantastic first home game for me to get going. It's a fairly decent bench mark because that's the expectation we've now set after this game against a very strong opponent.
"We want to entertain, for sure. But there's been enough in the first two games for me to see that they want this themselves. There were plenty of opportunities in both our games to veer away from that. It's an early stage and it would be understandable. But we didn't sit back. We kept trying to be aggressive and that tells me that it's not just because of how I want them to play - the players have to believe in it and understand it."
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