Leicester Defeat Shows Change in Tact Is Needed From Jose Mourinho's Tottenham

We should probably get it out of the way early on. Sunday was not good for Tottenham.

In the 2-0 defeat to Leicester, they gave away two very avoidable goals. They looked open each time the visitors countered and most of their possession came when the ball was three storeys up in the air.

With Tanguy Ndombele substituted at half time and Giovani Lo Celso dragged off soon after through injury, there was no creative spark. Son Heung-min and Harry Kane couldn't link up as frequently as they have in recent months, and the wide attackers brought on as substitutes either ran themselves into dead ends or lost the ball.

It was bad. Really bad. Most certainly the worst performance since the opening day defeat to Everton, which had us all questioning whether the route the club had chosen was the right one.

But there should be some caveats. Sometimes it's hard not to be instantly reviled by such a performance, but in some ways it should be expected. With every 2-0 sh**house victory over a Manchester City or Arsenal, there may well be the occasional loss to a side who outperformed Spurs and caught them at the right time.

One positive is that Jose Mourinho has just one last Premier League game in this horrendous run of fixtures to negotiate - away to Wolves - before kinder looking fixtures against Fulham and Leeds, both of which are at home.

However, a change in tact is evidently needed. There was no guile or subtlety to Tottenham's attack on Sunday, with both Kane and Son looking out of sorts as Leicester pressed and asserted themselves impressively on the home side.

Who do Tottenham turn to for attacking dividends when those two aren't firing? Not many have put their hands up so far this season.

But what won Tottenham fans back over with Mourinho earlier in the season were the brutal attacking displays at both Southampton and Manchester United. Games in which they played without shackles and showed how quickly they can move in transition.

No one can deny the gruelling effects from their fixture list are starting to show, but Spurs need to show more urgency right from the off. They need to attack games more positively rather than waiting for the moment to catch opponents with their pants down.

The ideal solution to that problem would be Ndombele and Lo Celso partnering each other in central midfield, but they've been on different schedules for most of the year, the former playing in the Premier League and the latter in the Europa League.

Moussa Sissoko's regular inclusion in league XIs has been one reason for that. The Frenchman is so, so effective in games where Spurs can happily surrender possession, like the wins against City and Arsenal.

But it's a different story against sides like Leicester. The visitors had their moments in possession, but Spurs saw more of the ball after going 2-0 down. Sissoko is hardly the player to unlock a tight defence. It's not Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Harry Winks' forte, either.

Instead, they had to turn to the deep-lying Kane, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura to create opportunities for Son as Leicester headed away long ball after long ball.

The last time Tottenham attacked a game ferociously was against West Ham. A 3-0 lead was established in no time, but the late collapse scarred Mourinho. The results picked up afterwards as an emphasis was placed on negating opponents, but that has come at the detriment of attacking flair.

Mourinho learned from that West Ham calamity. Now he has to do the same from a run of three games in which Tottenham have picked up just one point.

It's a silly season and Stoke in the Carabao Cup are up next, before the league clash against Wolves. It's hardly time to panic, but it won't be a cause for optimism if Tottenham place their ten outfield players behind the ball at the bet365 Stadium.

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