Gary Neville claims Jose Mourinho doesn't fully trust his Tottenham defence and the only way they can win the Premier League title is by reining in some of their attacking instincts.
Spurs claimed a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, frustrating Chelsea but at the expensive of their own offensive ability with the visitors failing to muster a single shot after half-time.
Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 the previous weekend, with Harry Kane admitting their tactical approach was to hold firm in a mid block and look to counter with his vision and the pace of Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn.
Sunday's clean sheet in west London was impressive because it was achieved against Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Tammy Abraham - all player in form - but also because the back four comprised Eric Dier, whose natural position is perhaps in midfield and the inexperienced Joe Rodon, making his full Premier League debut.
With Toby Alderweireld out for at least the next two weeks, and Mourinho seemingly not confident in Davinson Sanchez, it leaves Spurs looking vulnerable but Neville claims their holding midfielders of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the versatility of Kane mitigate against this.
"He still wants the defensive stability,” Neville told Sky Sports.
"He still wants the clean sheet, and I don’t think he wholly trusts his back four at Tottenham but you look at this Spurs team now, with Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg screening, and you’ve still got a back six [as he had for United against Liverpool] but there are big differences.
"Firstly, the position of Harry Kane is a lot deeper to Zlatan Ibrahimovic into a place that’s difficult to pick up. Secondly, and the most important thing, is that Son [Heung-Min] and [Steven] Bergwijn are near to him… now Jose has the right players still in advanced positions to counter-attack quickly.
"It’s a subtle change but it’s the same system as before in a different way. It is far more palatable and it’s easier on the eye as you’ve still got the attacking players in attacking positions. Jose has adapted, and he’s got the balance of being good defensively with the threat on the counter-attack.
"I feel he has to play this way to have a chance of winning the title because I don’t think his back four is strong enough without two players beefing it up."
Hojbjerg has proven to be an outstanding purchase with the Dane's positioning and tenacity off the ball and calmness on it, forever maintaining Spurs shape while Sissoko has rediscovered his mojo with some fine performances.
The France international has proven particularly adept in covering the full-back areas, meaning the defensive fallibilities of Serge Aurier and Sergio Reguilon aren't so pronounced.
Given Spurs have kept clean sheets against City and Chelsea, two of the best attacking sides in the division, with this system it boes well for Sunday's North London Derby against an Arsenal team struggling for creativity, ranking 15th for shots (9.5) in the Premier League, 17th for key passes (6.5) and 17th for goals (10).
"The challenges might come against teams that drop off against them, where they have to be a little bit more creative, but that's when the likes of Kane and Gareth Bale will come into it," Neville added.
"I don't think he can win it by being proactive against Liverpool, Manchester City and other teams, but if Tottenham buy into it, the players buy into it, it feels like something that's innovative. It's still defensive-minded but it's got a real threat to it, and they're scoring goals as well."
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