Lloris - Spurs are not clinical enough

Success has to be build, it isn't simply a case of buying a bunch of players and sending them out to do their own thing. There has to be a system to follow, everyone must know what they have to do, but they must also know what their teammates must do.

The accusation levelled at Spurs is that we are full of skill, but can be easily brushed aside, we'll falter under pressure. Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Neville, Roy Keane have all spoiken about it while Neville has noticed we are changing for the better.

To be able to play entertaining football you first have to work hard or as we have a history of doing you will come a cropper. The workrate table released in an article this evening shows Tottenham have outrun every side this season. We are earning the right to express ourselves, now we need to add a more clinical approach in the final third to make us a consistent worry for the usual top four.

Club captain Hugo Lloris recognises the same and likes what he sees at Spurs now, although there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“If we keep playing the same way with the same attitude then we’re going to win a lot of games. If we have to improve on one aspect of our game it’s in front of goal – we have to score more. 

“Again at Swansea we had so much space and so many chances but we need to be more clinical in front of goal. It’s not only about one player but all the attacking players – they need to get into the box and be more aggressive with a desire to score.  

“The rest will come, though, if we keep the same attitude and behaviour.”

I have spoken many times that the time to practice clinical finishing is when we are 2-0 up. In the Adebayor era and before him we had either a lazy approach in front of goal when a game was won or we had Adebayor running and passing the ball about in midfield, not interested in scoring another. Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea would all go on to score five or six, we were content with two.

When it becomes critical to score at 0-0 or 0-1 you can't just turm on clinical finishing, it has to be ingrained. Scoring when we are 4-0 up should be just as important to the player as scoring when we are not in front, then and only then will each player become more clinical and we become a greater threat.

Last season Erik Lamela was being carried, he offered no goal threat in the Premier League. This season he has had a change in mental attitude and now he is continually putting himself in the position to score, he is risking failure to be a success. Last season he was hiding, this season he isn't and has three goals with two assists.

Roberto Soldado lost all confidence in front of goal, preferring to pass instead of shoot in the end. A mental change and he is scoring again. It is essential in a goalscoring position that the player believes he is going to score, he must have total conviction, then he is most likely to execute the vital moment successfully. Doubt raises the possibility of failure, of not performing tha action required with the conviction needed which is when mistakes are more likely to occur.

Regular readers will know I'm with Hugo here, being clinical is vital to make us a genuine threat. 

Further Tottenham Reading
Spurs - run like a Top 4 club
Alli and Lamela a lesson for all
Spurs identify Baldini replacement
He shouldn't have signed a contract
MacKenzie scouting 5 games in 3 countries in 4 days

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