Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou plays down talk of Premier League title challenge

Spurs can cement top spot with a win at Crystal Palace on Friday

Ange Postecoglou, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, reacts after the team's Premier League victory over Fulham. Getty

Ange Postecoglou dismissed the significance of Tottenham potentially opening up a five-point gap at the top of the table with a win at Crystal Palace on Friday.

Spurs are enjoying their best ever start to a Premier League season under the Australian's leadership, having gone back to top spot on Monday with a 2-0 win at home to Fulham.

Postecoglou says his focus is on improving the team and that he was far from happy with their second-half display against the Cottagers.

“It doesn’t really add any significance because whatever happens Friday night there’s still a full round of Premier League fixtures to be played and nothing of any real significance comes of that,” he said.

“We’re in a good space at the moment but again we’ve still got plenty of work to do to make sure what we do now is sustainable. That’s the main thing.

“It’s not about making a short-term impact, it’s about building something which hopefully brings sustained opportunities of success for the club.

“There is a really good reason no manager will talk about winning a title in October or November because we know there’s a long way to go.”

Tottenham’s rise up the table has been powered by a return of 20 goals in nine matches, but Postecoglou feels they can and will improve going forwards.

“We still have to grow in every area,” he said. “There are areas where we are already very good, particularly around the defensive side of the game. I think we’ve been excellent there – really consistent.

“I still think our main growth will come in the attacking side of the game. I still think particularly in the front third, a lot of our movements are still not natural and fluent like we want them to be, which isn’t surprising.

“But what is getting us the goals is that we have great quality up there, which is contributing to that. I still think the biggest growth for us will be in our attacking side of the game.”

Spurs will have to assess Destiny Udogie for the Selhurst Park clash after the left-back was withdrawn in the 56th minute of Monday’s win with muscle tightness.

Pape Sarr (illness) and Ben Davies (knock) are fit and Yves Bissouma is also available after he served a one-match ban for his recent red card at Luton, but Postecoglou was coy over his team after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg impressed against Fulham.

Tottenham v Fulham player ratings

TOTTENHAM PLAYER RATINGS: Made brilliant saves to deny Palhinha’s header and a strike from Jimenez but got away with a poor pass that was intercepted by Willian and an awkward header. Booked for time wasting. Getty

Made some brilliant runs going forward, including one that almost saw him reach Richarlison’s cross. Also looked solid defensively. EPA

Put in an assured defensive performance, notably recovering well after Vicario conceded possession, and even made a great burst forward and intelligent ball through for Kulusevski. Reuters

Put in a solid defensive performance and cut out Bassey’s pass in the build-up to Son’s opener. Reuters

Put in a strong defensive display and was also confident on the ball, showing a willingness to accept it in awkward positions. Unlucky to see his shot blocked by Ream. AP

Composed throughout, whether that was on or off the ball and had some nice touches. Made a superb intervention to stop Castagne’s cross from reaching Jimenez. Reuters

Slotted in seamlessly during his first Premier League start of the season, even if he did pick up a yellow card for a late sliding tackle on Willian. Found Son well when he cut out Bassey’s pass. Reuters

Will be wondering how he didn’t get a goal contribution in the first half, with one cross being headed away superbly by Bassey, while he couldn’t get a shot off after being played through by Romero. Conceded the ball in the build-up to Jimenez’s chance. Getty

Had an influence in most of Spurs’ promising play with some lovely passing and touches, which came despite being on the end of some heavy challenges early on. Took his goal well with a cool finish but couldn’t quite find the finish after Bassey’s poor touch. EPA

Intelligently slid the ball through to Son for the opener. He also saw a brilliant cross come agonisingly close to finding Porro and worked tirelessly for the team. The main thing that was missing was his finishing. AP

Had some wonderful touches and after hitting one disappointing shot, he made no mistake with a brilliant strike for the opener. Selflessly teed up Maddison for the second. EPA

SUBS: (Udogie 56’) Did well to push Willian wide following Vicario’s poor header and cut out a threatening cross. Put in two good blocks to deny Wilson. AP

(Sarr 62’) Slotted into the midfield well and put in a great tackle to halt Willian’s run forward. Getty

(Richarlison 81’) Did well to keep a wayward pass on the pitch. Reuters

(Son 82’) Put in a big block to deny Iwobi and made a great burst forward but waited too long to slip Veliz through. Reuters

(Maddison 82’) Couldn’t quite stay onside when Lo Celso slipped the ball through for him. Getty

FULHAM PLAYER RATINGS: Did well to stop Son’s early shot but was given no chance by the finishes for the two goals. AFP

Late into some challenges and struggled against Udogie at times, although he did get the better of the Italian to deliver a cross. Reuters

Looked comfortable on the ball but cheaply conceded possession for both of Spurs’ goals and got away with a poor touch in his own box. He did make a great header to stop a dangerous cross from Kulusevski. AP

Committed to everything he did, which saw him block Udogie’s shot, although the American took that too far and got mixed up with Bassey as Son capitalised to score the opener. Did well to block Maddison’s shot another Bassey mistake. Getty

Struggled against Kulusevski at times in the first half and couldn’t quite find his final pass after a brilliant burst up the pitch. AFP

Looked off the pace at times in the first half but was more involved in the second. Hit an overly ambitious shot from range that trickled harmlessly wide. Getty

Put in a good shift for the team and sprayed some lovely passes. Unlucky to see a brilliant header saved by Vicario. PA

Struggled to make his mark in an attacking sense and was disappointingly caught offside following his own corner. AP

Hit an ambitious shot wide 11 seconds in and continued to show intent in both his attacking and defending. Getty

Did well to reach a cross from Castagne but couldn’t get his header on target. Was found lacking with his hold-up play too often. AP

Being showered with boos, he always looked bright whenever he was on the ball but couldn’t quite find the final pass at times. Couldn’t do enough to capitalise on Vicario’s awkward header but played a nice ball for Wilson late on. Getty

(Vinicius 45') Quiet for most of his time on the pitch and saw his shot from a promising position saved. Teed up Cairney’s chance with a nice flick and took a big hit from Romero. Reuters

(Pereira 45') Failed to take advantage of a lax pass from Kulusevski and did well to cut out Romero’s pass but was unfortunate to see the ball bounce away from him. Getty

(De Cordova-Reid 62’) Took a knock but played some nice passes, including one for Jimenez’s chance. Saw two shots blocked by Emerson late on. Getty

(Lukic 72’) Put in a couple of big tackles in the middle of the pitch. Getty

(Palhinha 82’) Brought a bit of extra urgency to Fulham’s play but couldn’t test Vicario with his attempt. Reuters