While Ange Postecoglou demanded senior players take responsibility, teenager Archie Gray inadvertently proved the point by promising to study hard for a new role and plug the hole in the center of Tottenham's defense.
“It's a different challenge, a different position,” said Gray, whose unflappable temperament was one of the positives to emerge from Spurs' injury crisis.
'It has differences. As a wing defender you stand on the sideline and in midfield you always have a man behind you. Here you can see the entire field. “I'm just grateful for every minute I play and wherever the manager wants me to play, I'm happy to play.”
Gray is 18 and it's easy to forget that in his second season of senior football. He was part of the Leeds team in the Championship last season and proved impossible to dislodge, whether playing at full-back or in central midfield, the position most agree he will end up in.
The same could ultimately be the case with Tottenham. Not only because of his qualities as a footballer, which are considerable, but also because of his mentality. His composure is remarkable and extends beyond the boundaries of the field.
Spurs players were unwilling to talk after extending their poor run of form to one win in eight in Thursday's Europa League draw against Rangers, but Gray stepped up and accepted a new challenge.
He told how central defense partner Radu Dragusin and goalkeeper Fraser Forster talked him through the new position during matches, and Postecoglou and his coaching staff had designed specific exercises for him during training with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies, all injured .
“I'm confident in my ability, I'll always back myself,” Gray said, ahead of Sunday's trip to Southampton, the team that denied Leeds promotion in the play-off final in May and paved the way for him to leave Ellandweg.
'They like short football. They are similar to us in a way, they like to find bouncing passes through the pitch and have a free flowing structure. It will be good to play them again.
'Even if, like against Rangers, the results are not to our liking, I will always stand behind all of us and back myself to step in and get the job done. For us, I think the result is the most important thing. We just focus on playing our football, which is the best way to get our results.”
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