A crazy high line is hurting Tottenham, writes MARTIN KEOWN

Tottenham are a club so torn that the atmosphere risks becoming toxic if their next three games – all at home and starting with the visit of Wolves tomorrow – continue the downward trend.

You can sense the division in the fanbase, some calling on the radio to point the finger at Ange Postecoglou, others calling for Daniel Levy's head, a dwindling number saying they are satisfied with the 100mph football that is shown.

There's no point in being seen as the Premier League's big entertainers if your play doesn't also deliver results, and at the moment it's a fact that Tottenham are closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

Spurs are determined to press high with a back four parking themselves on the halfway line to condense space.

They had 71 percent of the ball at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, and yet Postecoglou's attacking plan was undone by Nuno Espirito Santo's more street-oriented strategy as a single counter-attack handed Spurs a ninth Premier League defeat of the season.

Now Vitor Pereira's Wolves are coming to town. They no longer look like a soft touch after back-to-back wins over Leicester and Manchester United, but Tottenham could do with a convincing win to appease their supporters.

I respect Postecoglou for trying to change the culture of the club and in a way it is admirable that he is so optimistic in supporting his energetic philosophy.

I remember when Arsene Wenger first arrived at Arsenal with an 'attack, attack, attack' approach. As a defender, I said, “Whoa, wait a minute, let's show some restraint and find a balance here.”

We even had an emergency meeting about it in early 1997-98, a season in which we were crowned champions.

But Tottenham seem a world away from finding that balance for themselves now. Postecoglou should get more out of the group he has. Tottenham's front line looks good enough to get better results.

Dominic Solanke, Heung-min Son, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson all carry that attacking threat. But as a team they haven't read the game well enough to know when to drop off to deal with balls at the back.

All it takes to beat their offside trap is for an opponent to make an intelligent run from deep, as Dominik Szoboszlai did for Liverpool before Christmas.

I sympathize with their injury problems, especially Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who are both sidelined with muscle problems.

I'm sure this is a result of the crazy way Postecoglou asks his centre-backs to hold a false high line while constantly forcing them to turn on their heels and sprint to clear the danger .

An examination of Tottenham's squad and that of their final opponents Forest would suggest that on paper Spurs are better equipped to finish in the top four.

In fact, I predicted in preparation that Spurs would finish fourth this year.

Going into this big match against Wolves, former Tottenham players turned pundits are ramping up the pressure on Postecoglou by telling him to leave. Until now, he has been very adamant about his specific beliefs.

But he must be courageous in adapting his philosophy and the team's overall style for the sake of short-term survival before returning to his long-term vision after this turbulent period.

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