We’ve reached the October international break, the second staging post of the season.
The first one saw us at a real low point, thankfully this one comes after a run of three wins in a row.
The victory over Brighton in the EFL Cup really felt at the time like one of our biggest matches in some time in that competition. It was about more than winning a trophy, it was about stopping the season spiralling terribly in the same way it did last year. That one relatively fortunate win could end up being worth so much it’s hard to fathom.
By getting away with a 1-0 win (rather fortunately given some of Robert Sanchez’ errors), we brought a little positive energy back to the team, and Mauricio Pochettino was able to leverage that into a second win against Fulham a week ago.
With that energy flowing through us, even conceding first against Burnley on Saturday didn’t put us off. We had resolve and belief, and came back to win 4-1. Had we not been playing on the back of two wins, it’s easy to imagine us folding in that game as we had against Burnley and Nottingham Forest in September.
Betting sites not on Gamstop would have struggled to predict 3 wins on the spin given where we were not long ago, but here we are. Now the question is, what comes next? The fixtures get so much harder, but we look like a team now, and even more crucially Mauricio Pochettino has another two weeks now to work with the players he has and to return injured or half fit players back to match readiness.
Reece James will be back, Malo Gusto back from suspension. Armando Broja should finally be at 100%, with Nicolas Jackson fresh firing and in form.
Who knows who else to expect – Benoit Badiashile should be in full training, and Carney Chukwuemeka is apparently ready for selection too.
We have confidence, we have options. The fixtures get hard, but we’ve seen what we can do when we’re playing well now. Are we that afraid of Arsenal? Or Brentford, who are in terrible form? Or Blackburn? Away at Spurs is certainly a game to be worried about, and going to St James’ Park right now is a scary prospect. But even Man City look a little vulnerable, especially at Stamford Bridge.
It seems that these wins haven’t just given the players confidence, they’ve given us fans plenty too…
