Anyone who has watched Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this season might well be surprised at their camp this week. Many there have total belief they are going to win the Europa League. The group is calm, but focused. The extent of the conviction might seem unusual given recent performances, but there are rational reasons. One is their very Europa League run, as well as three wins from three against Manchester United this season. There is also the conviction of Ange Postecoglou himself, who many players are rowing in behind. “I think he proved all you guys wrong,” Micky van de Ven says.
It’s where statements like “I always win things in my second year”, as Postecoglou has insisted, can start to become so persuasive. One other factor emboldening Spurs is this season’s stirring trend of trophy droughts ending. There has already been Newcastle United, Bologna, Crystal Palace and even Tottenham’s own Harry Kane at Bayern Munich. That feeling can be contagious. Many within Spurs saw what happened at Wembley on Saturday and wondered, “what if…?”
