Tottenham 1 Wolves 0

The narrative has to change.

More specifically, Bruno Lage has to change the narrative.

That’s now 10 Premier League matches without a victory and had that sequence not been spread across two seasons we know what the likely outcome would have been.

Even before inviting Guedes and Nunes to the party, controlled possession and good defending weren’t in short supply. The problem was and continues to be putting the ball in the net.

On today’s evidence, neither of those players are the definitive answer, despite both coming close to making a difference.

Guedes showed himself to be a willing runner, making life uncomfortable for the Spurs defence in the first half, but lacking that killer instinct when he got into the positions.

For star boy Nunes, it was a lower profile debut but he did glance a brilliant header just wide in what was probably the closest Wolves came in an impressive first 45.

Moutinho and Neves in particular were masterful at times to keep possession ticking over and the home side pinned back.

But there was always the feeling Spurs would up the ante after the break and when the chances came for Kane and co the outcome would be different…and so it proved.

We had a warning with Kane glancing a header off the bar and Son smacking the outside of the post and we couldn’t maintain possession well enough in that crucial part of the game to re-establish control.

Set pieces looked like a good route to goal for them and it was a smart bit of forward play from England’s number 9 to escape Collins and nod home the only goal.

Up to that point he’d been managed admirably by the big defender, but that momentary lapse was enough to cost us the game.

It shouldn’t have been of course. Nuno would always say if we concede 0s and 1s we can get consistent results and that should ring true were it not for our laughable performance levels inside the opposition’s penalty area.

Again today, openings were created but not converted.

Ait-Nouri got in but tripped over his own feet (a consistent and frustrating trait), Raul escaped in the box but between him and Dendoncker the ball somehow failed to make it goalwards and on the sole occasion we got a clear sighter with a man in position, Podence inexplicably scuffed it into the ground.

It’s easy to say we need a striker and I’m not arguing against that obvious point but I think players of this quality should be able to produce greater returns with the right coaching and instruction around their attacking play.

This is where Lage will now be under the microscope as pressure intensifies with each blank returned.

He can console himself with the fact we stood toe to toe with a team expecting a top four finish but will know he needs a win in the coming weeks to shift the narrative around his own capabilities.