Matt Doherty believes Nuno Espirito Santo has changed since his time at Wolves but that he will eventually make his mark at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Portuguese began his time with Tottenham well, sitting top of the early Premier League table following three straight wins in the competition.
However, injuries galore since the international break began and losing three South American players to isolation after playing in red listed countries has wreaked havoc at Spurs and they have struggled to create chances in their two matches since, including a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Rennes on Thursday night in the Europa Conference League.
“We are working on [the lack of creativity], we are aware we are lacking in chances and goals this season, we have only scored three league goals,” said Doherty.
“We are aware we need to keep the door shut at the back but then when we have the ball we need to start creating and having our ability we have going forward in the team. If we keep working on it and keep getting in the right positions things will change.”
The right-back believes that having a pre-season with so many players missing due to international commitments means the current lack of players available will not phase the Spurs head coach too much, as he added Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura to the injury list on Thursday night.
“He came in at the start of pre-season and a lot of the players weren’t there so he is probably used to it,” he said.
“A lot of the players only came in a week before the season so that is part and parcel of being a coach, you have players who are not there so you just have to get on with it. I don’t think he will have a problem With getting the squad ready for a game with players missing.
“It’s not really [a period of bad luck], that’s just what happens in football, there’s tackles, it’s a contact sport and I don’t think any of them [on Thursday] were bad tackles, that is just what happens. Every club goes through that and it just seems to be our moment.”
Doherty has seen Espirito Santo transform Wolves in the past, taking them from the Championship to the Premier League and establishing them instantly as a top seven side for two successive seasons before a dip in the last campaign down a few spots.
The Republic of Ireland international believes the Portuguese will improve Tottenham in a similar way.
“He is only at the start of his reign, it takes time,” he said. “You see what he did at Wolves, it takes a few seasons to master it, I am not saying it is going to take that long here, but with a bit of time and coaching and working on the training pitch it won’t be long until he has us firing.”
When asked whether his former boss had changed a bit now they have been reunited in north London.
“He has changed a little bit from what I remember. He has always been a top class coach, but he has had to adapt,” he said.
“He has changed the way he wants to play which is the main thing, he has changed the formation but his principles are still the same, he still wants to win games and play nice football. That is the main thing, that’s his way of playing.”
(Football London)
