Source: team_talk
AVB promises Spurs improvement
Andre Villas-Boas has promised Tottenham fans their team will not produce a repeat of the display against Wigan when they face Manchester City.
Spurs went in to Saturday's clash having won five of their previous six Premier League games, but they put on a terrible display in the 1-0 defeat against the Latics.
The home fans made their fury clear at the performance when they booed their team off at half-time and at the final whistle while Villas-Boas' decision to take off Jermain Defoe in the second half was also met with anger.
Spurs face a daunting trip to the champions next weekend before they take on Arsenal in the north London derby. And Villas-Boas has promised an improved display in both matches.
"Our performances in those games will not be like this one, definitely," Villas-Boas said.
"What we need to do is recover from this defeat. Emotionally for us it is very important for us to bounce back and we have the type of games that can have that impact.
"They are games against the top teams at their ground. These are teams with the same objectives as us. We will bounce back."
Tottenham looked a pale imitation of the side that dominated Southampton and beat Manchester United at Old Trafford at the end of September.
Wigan could have been 3-0 up by the time Ben Watson swept home from close range after Brad Friedel spilled Shaun Maloney's corner into the midfielder's path.
For a team containing Defoe, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, Spurs lacked a cutting edge against their struggling opponents, with Ali Al Habsi having only one real save to make throughout the game.
But Villas-Boas denied that his team's poor creative showing meant he would have to enter the transfer market in January, citing the impact the likes of Mousa Dembele, Scott Parker and Younes Kaboul could have when they return from injury.
"No, what we need in January is to recover the players we have injured," the Portuguese said.
"We have a lot of players injured at the moment. If everyone recovers then we have a great boost in terms of what we have available."
Roberto Martinez, who has now masterminded Wigan's only two victories in history at White Hart Lane, is not convinced that Tottenham's poor form will last.
"In my eyes they will definitely be in the Champions League spots, and should be challenging for the title," the Wigan boss said.
"They won at Old Trafford. When you do that it's clear the team are at an outstanding level. They have world-class players."
It was credit to Martinez, and his players, that Wigan stifled those world-class players in north London.
Wigan have typically struggled through the first half of the season before avoiding the drop with a run of form in spring.
Yet this year, with the likes of Arouna Kone, Franco Di Santo and Watson firing on all cylinders, a similar scenario seems improbable.
Martinez said: "To get back-to-back wins this early in season is a matter of the approach of squad, and of having that winning mentality.
"We wanted to come to White Hart Lane and get three points, rather than accept defeat and go through the motions. That's a mentality we didn't have last season or in previous seasons.
"Without having to win, we wanted to win and that's the biggest change I've seen for a long, long time."
