Crises do strange things to people. Some ignore the danger as though they can make it go away by pretending it doesn’t exist, which is how teams sleepwalk into danger as Tottenham appeared for much of this season to be doing. Once the cliff edge is acknowledged, there are those who find themselves drawn inexorably towards it in a vertigo of irresponsibility, clear thought rendered impossible, basic functions undermined. But there are others who, in extremis, find the brain clears and sinews stiffened, petty irritations melting away as focus sharpens.
In certain cases, that may not be enough. Sometimes, almost whatever you do, the pull of the abyss is too strong to be resisted. Tottenham had seemed to be dragging themselves together. The last week has been broadly positive. They began extremely well against Nottingham Forest.
