Fulham boss Chris Coleman admitted he would have been happy with a point at Spurs – then confessed he was ecstatic with a stunning win.
Barry Hayles’ brilliant brace in the 3-0 win made up for a week of transfer misery for Coleman, who was angry at £2.5m target Claudio Reyna’s sudden switch to Manchester City.
He also had to cope with the breakdown of Sean Davis’ £5.5m move to Everton on medical grounds and striker Steve Marlet’s decision to quit for Marseille.
He said: “I don’t think the players will have talked about it too much. They were conscious of what was going on but trying to concentrate on football. The players did everything we worked on in the week – and you can’t ask for more than that.
“Barry Hayles battled and worked hard, like everyone else. It’s never easy for a striker to play by himself against three defenders. And I’ve got to be honest and say I’d have been delighted with a draw, given our away form last season and last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Everton.”
Coleman, who played Hayles up front as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation, plans to utilise a similar system in away games this term.
“Everyone has said we’re a good passing team and exciting to watch – but we haven’t been hard to beat away from home,” he added.
“So we cut the frills and we must approach a lot of away games like that. Our tactics will be pretty much the same as today.”