Premier League

IPSWICH TOWN 1 (Hutchinson 36)
TOTTENHAM 4 (Johnson 18, 26, Spence 77 Kulusevski 84)

THREE league wins on the spin and a bench packed with first-teamers chomping at the bit – no wonder Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou looked an entirely different manager today (Saturday) after watching his side thump struggling Ipswich 4-1 at Portman Road.

Postecolgou’s injury-racked winter of discontent is melting away in the Spring sunshine; and he must be hoping his charges can build up some form to take into the last 16 of the Europa League – a possible backdoor route into the Champions League next season.

He watched Spurs comprehensively demolish lowly Ipswich via two first-half goals from the returning Brennan Johnson, a Djed Spence effort midway through the second period and then a trademark Dejan Kulusevski finish to cap off a fine afternoon.

Speaking after the win, the manager – who has endured a torrid three months of sick notes from seniors – noted how not only did he have players returning, Tottenham were also without midweek games in the past fortnight.

He said: “We’re taking advantage of circumstances, where we’ve had a couple of spare midweeks. We’re getting some players back. We’re not happy where we are in the league and we want to improve that.

“There’s still a lot of games to go so we can still make an impact. We’ve still got some significant players to come back, so we’re going to get stronger.”

The rapidly emptying treatment room meant he could field a bench of oven-ready Premier League players – and could afford to let James Maddison start as a substitute as he eases himself back from injury.

Postecoglou added: “We’ve still got four or five top footballers out of today’s squad. We’re going to need them because we know this sort of luxury of midweeks off is going to diminish now, but hopefully we’re better equipped to handle it than we were earlier in the year.”

Ipswich, languishing in 18th but having turned Spurs over 2-1 in N17, started out like they had a Premier League status to save.

The Tractor Boys were rocket propelled in the opening 10 minutes, going close three times before Spurs shook their heads clear of an early home team flurry.

On 18, Archie Gray, paired with the immense Kevin Danso at centre-back, intercepted a forward move by Town and spotted Heung-Min Son loitering on his markers’ shoulder with space ahead of him.

The 18-year-old pinged a delightful long ball for Son to chase. The forward led Town defenders Ben Godfrey and Jacob Greaves a merry dance before crossing for Johnson to finish from close range.

The double act made it two on 26: Rodrigo Bentancur, enjoying his midfield anchor role, found Son. The skipper went on a mazy run before spotting Johnson free again. The winger coolly guided his finish home.

Spurs had a momentary wobble when Omari Hutchinson tallied the home support with a nice finish as half-time approached. But this time, Tottenham did not crumble.

Maddison, coming on as a second half substitute, showed neat feet to get into the box and find Spence. His shot took a deflection that spun the ball up and in on 77.

Kulusevski gave the scoreline a more deserved look in the last 10 minutes when he strode on to Yves Bissouma’s flicked header before cutting inside and finishing with a low, left foot curler into the far corner.

Postecoglou now has a better looking hand to play than he has enjoyed for months and was full of praise for how his players got the job done without fuss.

He added: “Our goals were quality and I thought as long as we got a handle on the other parts of the game, where we had to fight and scrap, win our duels, we had the quality in our front third to really hurt them, and that’s how it transpired.

“We were always a threat, Sonny was outstanding and it’s so good to get Brennan back and scoring the goals we know he can.”

Tottenham: Vicario, Spence, Danso, Gray, Udogie (Porro 65), Bergvall (Bissouma 86), Bentancur, Kulusevski, Johnson (Maddison 64), Tel (Scarlett 74), Son (Odobert 74)
Substitutes not used: Kinsky, Reguilon, Sarr, Moore.

Ipswich: Palmer, Godfrey (Woolfenden 46), O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Phillips, Cajuste (Taylor 53), Philogene, Hutchinson, Clarke (Broadhead 69), Delap (Hirst 80)
Substitutes not used: Muric, Townsend, Johnson, Morsy, Szmodics.