It was a tale of two managers when Spurs met the Hammers on Saturday, with Postecoglou passing the torch of criticism onto his Spanish counterpart
Tottenham have won six of their last seven games in all competitions after thrashing London rivals West Ham 4-1 in the Premier League.
Mohammed Kudus proved the pantomime villain of the day as he got the home fans on his back early on with a well-taken opening goal, bringing out his signature seated celebration in front of Spurs' behemoth single-tier stand.
Despite that fast start, the Hammers quickly crumbled and found themselves three goals down by the 60-minute mark. Dejan Kulusevski brought Tottenham level just before the break before three quick-fire goals on the other side of half-time completely flipped the script.
Yves Bissouma put the north Londoners ahead, while an own goal off the foot of Jean-Clair Todibo and a lovely finish from returning captain Son Heung-min rounded off the scoring.
Kudus' afternoon of infamy came to a premature end after he was sent off for violent conduct, with VAR decreeing he lashed out unlawfully at Pape Sarr and Micky van de Ven.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
AFPWINNER: Ange Postecoglou
After a limp north London derby defeat to Arsenal last month, Tottenham ripped off a run of five straight wins to flex their muscle and bite back at the naysayers of their all-or-nothing style. And then an inexplicable capitulation at Brighton brought fresh questions right into the face of head coach Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian was subjected to two weeks of doubting, two weeks of scrutiny, two weeks of probing via the cesspit of social media. If his side didn't start turning performances into points, it would be his head on the line.
When Spurs went a goal down, it felt very conceivable that this was going to be another joyous day out for West Ham in N17. Many times previously have those from east London rocked up and piled the misery down Tottenham throats, but today the hosts stood tall.
The very best of Angeball was on display after Spurs were dealt with a shot of adrenaline brought about by Kudus' strike. The defence and the attack came together on the same page, a perfect unison, one that was able to carve West Ham open again and again.
Wins cure everything, and Postecoglou needed one like this to vindicate his methods again.
AdvertisementAFPWINNER: Tottenham's engine room
One of Tottenham's newfound strengths this season has been their ability to control possession and slice through teams with far more ease, and Dejan Kulusevski's reinvention has been at the forefront of this endeavour.
The Swede never really fit the bill as the touchline winger Postecoglou really wanted on the right, but he was simply too good and decisive a player to drop out of the line-up. Starting with August's 4-0 win against Everton, he has exclusively started as a central midfielder and, more importantly, been Spurs' best player by some distance.
Meanwhile, Pape Matar Sarr came off the bench at half-time and played his role as a one-man engine to perfection. Post-match, Postecoglou admitted that his side were in need the Senegalese's "running power", which was eventually reflected in the scoreline.
AFPLOSER: James Maddison
Football may be a team game and Tottenham will benefit in the long run from their depth in midfield, though it's hard to overlook the fact that James Maddison was withdrawn early for tactical reasons and Spurs went on to win by a sizeable margin.
It's not as if the 27-year-old was particularly bad in his one half of football either – in fact, he came up with the assist for Kulusevski's equaliser and has been in tremendous form – but more he became redundant when the hosts needed a runner instead of another playmaker.
Ultimately, this is a good position for Spurs to be in, with competition for places ramping back up again. The optics for now just look a little worse.
AFPWINNER: Son Heung-min
Every season, Spurs captain Son is told by his critics that he is now entering a steep decline, that now is the time for the club to roll on with a succession plan. Nine years in and he's still putting those people back in their place.
An injury sustained prior to Tottenham's 3-0 win at Manchester United appears to have benefitted the South Korean, who was not called up for international duty and was spared racking up the air miles. Refreshed and with rejoice, he rolled back the years with a stunning display.
The clamps of Aaron Wan-Bissaka weren't enough to knock Son out of stride, while he sent Todibo into a spin with a trio of dizzying step-overs for the final goal of the afternoon. His performance was outstanding, but the modern Spurs legend was just happy to be back out there.
"To be back on the pitch is a joy, playing with my team-mates in a beautiful stadium is one of my favourite things – especially when you get the result," Son said.
"[The support is] incredible, I have been missing this support for three weeks and I didn't go to the national team. Playing in front of these fans is a huge honour and I want to give them something back.
"Sometimes injury time [out] can be good, we have such a busy time, that two or three weeks was perfect to recharge myself and today I was feeling really, really good."
