Premier League Weekend Review: Spurs kids will go the extra mile

Bentaleb and Kane covered more than 15 miles between them against Everton

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino turned to his home-grown youngsters for the weekend win over Everton. Ralph Ellis sees it as a turning point for Tottenham's season...

I was in a minority of one last season with the rest of the B.B team when it came to Tim Sherwood. I thought he showed huge promise as a Premier League manager, that he tapped into what Tottenham should be all about, that he was pretty hard done by in not getting a proper chance to take the club forward.

When I wrote that I got a few pointed e-mails from some of the Spurs supporting cast who, much like Daniel Levy, wanted him out as soon as possible and a more sophisticated boss brought into his place. They got their wish with Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine is settling in steadily. It's been a painful process while he's tried to work his way through the pile of expensive players he inherited, desperately trying to find a way to fit them together.

All the time he's been trying to impose his high-tempo, press-well-up-the-pitch, run-and-harry style of play onto men who rather see themselves as laid back pretty ball-players. It has been a collision of ideals between coach and dressing room and the coach has been coming second.

That was until this weekend and the 2-1 win over Everton - when it seemed the ghost of Sherwood had floated back into White Hart Lane as the key influence behind a huge change.

Tim himself may have long gone, and still hunting round for his next proper job in football having turned down the chance to get straight back to work at West Brom. But it is the players he nurtured through the youth structure during his years in charge of Tottenham's Academy who have suddenly shown they can make the difference.

One of the big moves Sherwood made last season was to axe some of the big-money imports and promote his own youngsters like Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane. He felt they understood the Spurs spirit. Now as Pochettino tries to impose his work ethic, it is the same home-grown youngsters the new manager has turned to.

Suddenly we saw a Spurs side willing to work from first whistle to last, to earn the right to play their football rather than expect it to be granted to them. And it was the likes of Kane and Ryan Mason who led the way.

The EA Sports data shows that Kane and Mason both ran more than eight miles during the 90 minutes, while Bentaleb got through 7.6. Between them they inspired Christian Eriksen to match their standards and he covered 7.9. When you consider the hardest working player in most Premier League teams at the weekend doesn't always go above seven miles, it shows the influence.

Spurs dream of returning to the top four and the Champions League, but I started the season laying them at 1.51/2 even for a place in the top six. I thought under Pochettino they were no further forward than they had been when Andre Villas-Boas was in charge.

But this weekend looks like a turning point and 2.56/4 for a top six finish now seems like value and it's time to turn the market green.

Tottenham have enough decent players, and a manager who knows his own mind. If they've got a few in the side with some passion for the club - and the willingness to literally go the extra mile - it will be exactly what is needed to bring the two things back together.