In his BBC Sport column, Tony Pulis wrote that Tottenham went to Marbella for a team-bonding trip and warm-weather camp in southern Spain. He wrote that the trip made him reflect on similar methods he had used as a manager to build team morale, and that, if it had worked, it would also have helped get Spurs ready to face Coventry on Monday night.
Pulis on Tottenham's trip
Pulis recalled that he had earlier written that Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi needed time with his players on the training pitch after their poor start to the season. He wrote that he was sure De Zerbi would have used the trip to get to know what is almost a new squad of players, with many new arrivals in the summer and several signings late in the transfer window.
What Pulis thinks the camp involved
Pulis wrote that he was sure the players would have been working mornings and afternoons to drill in the manager's principles in respect to team shape and direction. He also wrote that the trip would have allowed De Zerbi to monitor the different personalities within the group away from the grass.
Reaction to the timing
Pulis wrote that a few eyebrows were raised about Spurs going away so early in the season, but that it made sense to him given how many new players had arrived in the summer.
Pulis's own experiences
Pulis wrote that when he was Stoke manager, he often took his teams away to Austria in pre-season. He also wrote that in his early years as a player he was taken to Blackpool for three days' pre-season training, with those trips involving staying in a guest house, training on the beach each morning, and playing seven-a-side games in the afternoon on a local park pitch.