“This has unlocked us” – Tottenham star reveals what changed under Thomas Frank and since EL win.

On Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur picked up a 1-0 win over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League, keeping their fourth cleansheet in five games in all competitions.

That is a big indicator of how Thomas Frank has improved the side and the results also show that, as wins were difficult to come by under Ange Postecoglou despite the Europa League title win last season.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has now spoken to Gazzetta dello Sport about multiple things at Spurs.

He was specifically asked about the impressive clean-sheet record and how Frank has brought about a change at Tottenham.

The Italian explained: “Our ability to recognise the different phases of the game has changed – understanding when to press hard and when to cover the pitch better. In general, we’re more focused on defending the penalty area, also because we have a clearer understanding of the different phases without the ball.”

Vicario believes Tottenham weren’t great at times against Villarreal and allowed the Spanish side too many chances to break.

“Against Villarreal, we allowed too many transitions, and we need to take away some of our opponents’ hope when they go on the counterattack, but overall, it was an excellent defensive performance, and we need to continue like this.”

The 28-year-old was also asked about how winning silverware has impacted the squad this season.

He responded: “Winning definitely gives you a different dimension, probably even in the eyes of others. And a bit of healthy respect: we had this thing, even within the club, of being the ones who always got there but then didn’t win, but now we’ve done it.

“This has unblocked us a bit. We’ve lifted a weight off our shoulders, so now we can move forward, aware of our strengths. And also with goals, which we keep to ourselves and which we absolutely want to achieve.”

So far this season, Tottenham have played with a certain amount of confidence and structurally, they look much better than they did last season.

This is best evidenced by their win over Manchester City, who were nullified by Frank’s well-oiled system.

So far in the campaign, Spurs have conceded just one goal and that is the joint-best defensive record in the league. These are promising signs for them and as the season wears on, everything can hinge on how the Frank manages a deep squad to fit the tight fixture schedule.