Revitalised Matt Doherty driving Spurs’ bid for the top four

Matt Doherty does not hesitate when asked to recall the time things sunk to their lowest. It was March 2021: Spurs were travelling to Aston Villa on the back of a defeat to Arsenal and a humiliation for the ages at Dinamo Zagreb.

Although he was not involved in the latter, Doherty knew he had not performed well at the Emirates, but it still came as a surprise to find himself José Mourinho’s fall guy next time out. He was in the 21-strong travelling party but the ignominy hit hardest when, with the youngsters Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett named as substitutes, he was forced to stay in the car park.

“I went to get off the bus and it was Covid at the time, so you weren’t allowed in the changing room if you weren’t in the squad. Ledley [King], who was the assistant coach, was like: ‘You’ve got to stay on the bus.’ Once the game started I was allowed to go into the stands.

“So now I was just sat on the bus on my own. Genuinely, because it was the international break straight after, I was so close to just getting in the car and going. I think [Republic of Ireland] were meeting in Manchester anyway. I didn’t in the end, I decided I’d stay and watch the game and then go.”

Had a hurt, frustrated Doherty let heart rule head, perhaps his Tottenham career would be over by now. “I’m glad I didn’t,” he says. “It’s just not professional, is it, to do that? In your head you’re sitting on the bus and thinking: ‘What’s the point in watching the game? I might as well go.’ There were kids, and that’s no disrespect to kids, on the bench. [Mourinho] was trying to prove a point to everybody, not just for me but for the players who weren’t there either, but it was not fun.”

It has not exactly been a laugh a minute in the subsequent 13 months,