Tottenham’s ‘super-defensive’ tactics means they will have to ‘grind’ out results says Robbie Mustoe

Tottenham fans will have to get used to watching their side ‘grind’ out results warned Robbie Mustoe and Tim Howard. 

Harry Kane’s 64th-minute header broke the deadlock after a tense first half for Spurs as he scraped all three points for his side against Wolves Saturday. 

Mustoe conceded that fans will ultimately be pleased with the result but claimed he was worried Antonio Conte’s defensive strategy might lead to more ground-out results in the long run.  

When asked if Spurs supporters will be happy on CBS Sports, Mustoe said: ‘They will be because they won the game. But I think we’re going to see many others like that where it’s a bit of a grind because that’d the way Conte plays. 

‘He has a super-defensive mindset first and there will be chances and they will find ways to win which they did with Kane’s clever movement in that set piece. I just worry over a long period of time they might draw a few games. 

‘There’ll be other games where they can exploit weaknesses and they will counter attack well and Kane and Son will connect and score more goals but I think there might be a few more of those games.’

However, Howard claimed that Spurs were still the only side who could crash Manchester City and Liverpool’s top-two party this season but admitted it could look ‘drab’ at times for Conte’s side. 

When asked if he still believes Tottenham are on the pace, Howard said: ‘I still do but every other team is so far away from Manchester City and Liverpool, and okay Liverpool hasn’t been brilliant at the start of the season, but we see those two teams going into a game like this with the expectation at home and brush teams aside. 

‘It’s going to look a bit drab at times for Tottenham and they will draw a few games. As long as they have a lot of quality, so in games like this they don’t have a lot of chances but they can finish them because they have the likes of Son and Kane.’ 

Spurs headed into the break locked in a 0-0 stalemate after a dominant first half for the visitors and Mustoe bemoaned the ‘boring’ display from the hosts. 

‘Boring,’ he said. ‘It was a boring watch. It’s a massive stadium, they’ve got all this expectation, strong start, they got a result last weekend, and they waited for an opportunity. 

‘Conte does this a little bit. The commentary said it’s more about being reactive than proactive and that’s exactly right. Not enough effort to make something happen, try and score a goal, try and create something. It’s like they’re waiting for something to happen and Wolves to be fair enjoyed the ball in possession.’ 

Tottenham sat top of the Premier League ahead of the weekend’s other clashes and will travel to Nottingham Forest next week to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.