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Overpowering the rivals was the mentality at the club last year but now the priority is on preventing goals at the other end of the pitch.

Midweek's one-nil win versus the Spanish side in Tottenham's European opener was the fourth consecutive clean sheet they had secured in their opening five games so far.

Conversely, they had managed just one at the comparable stage of last term, when the more offensive their previous manager was in charge.

“We discussed a lot about 'clean sheet mentality' this year because we conceded a lot last year,” the club midfielder a key player stated.

Defender Van de Ven commented: “I think we are a tough team to play against, for sure. Organisationally we are positioned really good and we all know what to do, so we're a hard team to beat.”

The approach of Spurs against their opponents was in clear contrast to the attacking football played during their ex-coach.

They were much more cautious, even after being handed a early opener thanks to a costly mistake by Villarreal goalkeeper the shot-stopper.

Improved Backline but at an Attacking Cost?

Tottenham have conceded just the one goal to date - in the 1-0 loss to their Premier League rivals.

That is a significant improvement on how they started the prior campaign, when they let in five in their first five games.

In the Premier League they have kept three clean sheets already - meaning they are just two from matching their total for the whole of last season.

The more stable platform is perhaps coming at a cost, however, with their sole attempt on target against their European foes the second occasion in their last three games they had managed so few efforts on goal.

The manager acknowledges this is an area that has to improve.

“We have a very good platform to stand on in terms of our defensive organisation and I think it's effective and we gave very little away,” he said.

“This is the European competition against a good team. Additionally, I knew we took a positive step against their London rivals, going forward is the area we need to get better.”