Ange Postecoglou insists he will never change his attacking mentality and philosophy at Tottenham after bold tactics displayed in the heavy defeat by rivals Chelsea.
The Spurs boss operated with an incredibly high defensive line throughout Monday night's utterly chaotic London derby clash, even after first Cristian Romero and then Destiny Udogie were sent off to leave the hosts eventually playing with just nine men.
Still Postecoglou would not abandon the ultra-high line despite that huge numerical disadvantage and the loss of three first-choice defenders in total, with Micky van de Ven also lost to a serious-looking hamstring injury in the first half.
Such a brave tactic was successful for long periods as Tottenham battled valiantly with nine men at 1-1, Chelsea's initially frustrated and rather one-dimensional attack struggling to make the most of their repeated long balls over the top as they were either caught offside or met by the wonderful sweeping from inspired goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Such a refusal to abandon their attacking principles almost paid dividends for Tottenham as Eric Dier had a superb volley chalked off - the fifth disallowed goal in total of a memorable night - and they created other strong chances with the game still in the balance - most notably Rodrigo Bentancur's header from close range that drifted agonisingly wide of the far post and captain Heung-min Son's shot that was repelled by Robert Sanchez.
The subject of Spurs' high line was one of several big talking points after one of the most haywire matches in recent Premier League history, though Postecoglou made no apologies for sticking to his guns despite Chelsea going on to win comfortably 4-1 courtesy of a late Nicolas Jackson hat-trick.
"It is just who we are mate, it is who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men we will have a go," the Australian told reporters afterwards.
