Hoddle looks at the bigger picture

Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle admitted his team were flattered by a 3-1 win over West Brom at White Hart Lane but said: “I’m delighted we’re seventh in the table.”

Hoddle’s anxiety showed when he soon left the stand to shout instructions from the dug out after Albion took charge despite Christian Ziege’s third-minute Tottenham strike from a free-kick.

Hoddle said: “We could have been quickly 2-1 down if West Brom had shown better finishing but full credit to them they came here with a different philosophy than in most of their away games.

“Maybe it was conceding the early goal, but they pushed up, worked hard and caused us problems.

“It was probably their undoing in the end because they were defending on the halfway line and that can be dangerous when you have somebody of Robbie Keane’s pace.”

It was Keane who put Spurs 2-0 up on the half hour but after Albion sub Scott Dobie hit back on 72 minutes Spurs needed a scrambled effort by their own sub Gus Poyet to make sure of the points.

Hoddle said: “Give Albion credit but they were at their maximum today and we were nowhere near ours. Yet we’ve beaten them 3-1 and we’re well in touch with fifth and sixth places in the league.

“We know we can play a lot better. I had some words to say at half time but the players knew they should have been doing better.

“Sometimes it goes like that, but we’ve come out with three good points and we’ll be that much more confident for facing Arsenal here next Sunday.

“We know we can’t afford the early slips against them that we had today but there will be a better atmosphere – a better stadium.”

The match might have turned on a 66th minute incident when Tottenham keeper Kasey Keller escaped with a yellow card after pulling down Dobie outside the area.

But Baggies boss Gary Megson said: “We’re not unhappy with the decision. It is not for me to say whether the keeper should be sent off.

“You don’t want to see that, but it is disappointing Scott didn’t have the opportunity to stay on his feet and go for goal.”

Hoddle admitted: “When I saw Kasey flying out I knew what was coming and shut my eyes. So I can’t tell you whether I thought he was lucky to stay on.

“But there were defenders behind him and the striker was not running straight at goal. So probably the decision was correct.

Despite defeat, Megson said: “3-1 doesn’t tell the story. If we play like that for the rest of the season we’ll win more than we lose. I’m setting no targets for staying up but we know we’ve got to add certain things to our game.

“The defending was pathetic for Spurs’ first and third goals and not too clever for the second. Ziege’s free-kick was not the best he’s ever taken but it didn’t have to be because our wall was in the wrong place.

“We’re still getting by on spirit, though, and that’s what we are about. The trouble is we are always playing catch-up with established Premiership clubs like Spurs who can spend £7m (€11m) on somebody like Keane – who was their main threat – and have a player like Rebrov, at nearly £12m (€18.75m), sitting in the stands.”