Martin Jol admitted that Mido was named in his starting line-up against Fulham to fulfil defensive duties. Spurs also resorted back to the route one style of play that had earned them vital league points last season.
In contrast Jol has almost relied too heavily on Dimitar Berbatov this season. A world class centre forward but one who is still adjusting to the English Premiership, the Bulgarian benefited from starting on the bench on Sunday. The player signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer killed off any faint chance of a comeback from the home side in the closing stages.
Jol said: "I have stated that we have a more talented team now (compared to last season), but we have taken a step back in the defensive respect. You want to keep a clean sheet in every game, but obviously it's not always possible. Last season we kept 13 clean sheets but we have suffered with injuries and suspensions this time around with having played so many games."
"We have still won 21 games so far, but our league form has struggled as a result of all the fixtures. We must learn from the experience.
Obviously if a side is conceding more goals than before, then they need to score more at the other end.
Jol added: "If we can show determination and passion and be clinical in taking our chances when they come along our ability will pull us through and we will get the results we want. We haven't done it in all our games away from home as we did last season where eight different players netted.
"We know with our strikers that we are capable of scoring goals against any team. You need quality players to do that and we've got them."
"Hopefully we will be rewarded by winning a prize at the end of it all."
Source: TottenhamHotspur.com