Postecoglou thrilled with first-half blitz as Spurs get back to form

Ange Postecoglou hailed an “outstanding” first-half performance after Tottenham cast aside Southampton 5-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.

Spurs scored five first-half goals for the first time in their Premier League history as they took the Saints apart in a rampant 45 minutes, James Maddison’s brace sandwiching strikes from Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr.

Tottenham had 16 shots in the first half, getting eight on target and accumulating 2.2 expected goals (xG).

Postecoglou, who has been under increased scrutiny following a poor run of form, had stressed the importance of a fast start to his players and was delighted with how they delivered.

He told TNT Sports: “We had 10 first-team players unavailable tonight and for the lads to come out with that much energy was outstanding.

“We had to come out quickly because we knew we were going to get tired. We are asking a lot of our players.

“We’ve had great opportunities in the last few games early on and if we’d have taken them then you put pressure on the opposition. I said to them before the game, ‘Let’s be ready, let’s have a fast start’.

“You just want the players to feel good and get a reward for their efforts. We can’t rest or rotate and you want them to feel good. They get their reward tonight and we’ll recover and get ready for a big game on Thursday [against Manchester United in the EFL Cup].”

Left-back Destiny Udogie was substituted with an apparent injury in the first half, but Postecoglou confirmed it does not look serious.

On the opposite flank, Djed Spence impressed, creating Spurs’ opener in what was a fine individual display.

“He has had to bide his time, to be fair to him whenever he has played he has done well,” Postecoglou said of the full-back.

“We haven’t been able to give him too much game time because full-back is one of the positions we have a bit of cover but we needed him to come in and play at a good level and he did. It’s a credit to him.”

The humbling defeat marked the end of Russell Martin’s Southampton tenure, with the club confirming shortly after full-time that he had been dismissed.