Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou has a new main man at Spurs to rebuild squad around

Ange Postecoglou has insisted for months that he knows exactly what is needed to transform his Tottenham squad, but he will surely have learnt something new about his players during a miserable week.

Consecutive defeats by big-six rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have dented some supporters' confidence in Postecoglou and all but ended Spurs' hopes of a top-four finish.

Postecoglou is not beyond question but the club is determined to give him the support and time to build a squad in his image, leaving many players facing uncertain futures — a point underlined by the head coach's 'we need to change' speech on Friday.

Before the midweek defeat at Stamford Bridge, Postecoglou acknowledged that "a majority" of his players and staff were still not completely won over by his style of play and after the game he went further, saying that his team had lost "belief and conviction" in his approach.

Any non-believers will surely have to go, while Postecoglou has pointedly said that Spurs will need to change for the sake of change, meaning some "good players" will also be moved on. Only a handful of the squad feel completely safe.

Postecoglou should also have learnt who he can really trust last week, and Cristian Romero is the only player to emerge from the wreckage with significant credit.

Romero has a compelling case to have been Spurs' best player in all three games — although Richarlison, who came off the bench to score and set up Heung-min Son's goal in Sunday's 4-2 defeat at Anfield, also stood out.

Romero was Spurs' biggest goal threat in the 3-2 defeat by Arsenal, three times going close with headers before starting Spurs' futile comeback with a fine finish. He was also impressive defensively, making a series of important interventions.

"He's a World Cup winner and I've just got to get some of what's in him into some of the others," Postecoglou said afterwards.

At Stamford Bridge, which was the most disappointing of the three matches for Postecoglou, Romero was the only player who remained committed to his manager's principles, continuing to play high-risk passes from the back while his team-mates went through the motions.

And at Liverpool, Romero was not perfect — he was beaten in the air by Cody Gakpo for the hosts' third goal and twice lost possession playing out from the back, leading to chances — but his fight set him apart, including one with his own team-mate.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had to come between Romero and Emerson Royal as the players walked off the pitch at half-time after the centre-half squared up to the Brazilian.

Emerson had failed to track Mohamed Salah for Liverpool's first goal and was later at fault for Gakpo's header after the interval.

"They care," said Postecoglou. "It hurts them. They're just not going to be happy with the current situation and because they care they want to improve. There's nothing wrong with that as long as it's done in a constructive way."

Some players shine in adversity and Romero, perhaps surprisingly given his combative character, is plainly one of them. As recently as November, when he was sent off in the catastrophic home defeat to Chelsea, Romero was still considered a liability by many outside observers, a player who would always be capable of doing the team as much harm as good.

As Postecoglou prepares to rip up his squad over the summer, however, it is increasingly clear that he has a fiery and committed leader in the 26-year-old, who has bought into the coach's vision more fully than perhaps any other player. On top of that, he is an outstanding footballer.

As the manager has suggested, if Spurs can rebuild their squad with a few more players like Romero, such difficult weeks should become a thing of the past.