THIS was always likely to be a transitional season for Tottenham, with new arrival Mauricio Pochettino having to make the best of an expensive but patchy squad and implement his philosophy on the hoof. So it proved, with yet another fifth-place finish and another arduous season in the Europa League on the horizon.

Any hopes of a serious challenge to the upper echelons of the Premier League were extinguished early on in the season, with back-to-back home defeats to Newcastle and Stoke in the autumn representing a nadir for the team. Spurs dropped to 12th in the table and their nervy performances brought groans from the fans, who were subsequently rounded on in the press by Emmanuel Adebayor.

Unbeknownst to the supporters, though, changes were afoot, with an alleged bust-up between the younger players and Adebayor, who was rumoured to have invited two Newcastle players into the Spurs dressing room immediately after the defeat, acting as a catalyst for an overhaul of the first team. Out went Adebayor, Etienne Capoue and even captain Younes Kaboul, to be replaced by a new generation of young talent.

The breakthrough academy players, Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, brought with them a glorious exuberance that saw them bully league leaders Chelsea into a breathtaking 5-3 defeat on New Year’s Day and snatch a win from Arsenal with a magnificent Kane header, which will have alleviated the habitual pain of St Totteringham’s Day for many Spurs fans.

This was one of many late winners, with Kane and Christian Eriksen’s last-ditch goals squeezing out an impressive points tally over the winter period. However, this seemingly boundless energy was also coupled with a youthful ingenuousness that led to capitulations against Liverpool and Manchester United when fourth place seemed to be within their grasp.

Nevertheless, for many Spurs fans, the rise of young players with clear emotional bonds to the club helped to re-establish affective ties that had withered under Andre Villas-Boas. The ever-present refrain of “he’s one of our own” will be providing the soundtrack to many glazed-eyed flashbacks of Kane’s 31 goals long into pre-season.

Credit must be given to Tim Sherwood, who gave Kane and Bentaleb their first runs in the first team, but Pochettino also stayed true to his youth-oriented formula that paid dividends (admittedly more pecuniary than prize-winning) at Southampton.

The results were occasionally frustrating but often thrilling, with Bentaleb and Mason growing in stature with each game, and gradually forging a combative and stylish central midfield partnership that could potentially endure for the next five years.

While much has been made of the contributions of Eriksen and Kane, and rightly so, Nacer Chadli battled personal trauma to deliver a season that vastly improved on his disappointing first year at the club. While his form clearly dipped after the death of his father in January, on either side of this period he looked every inch the strong, pacy attacking midfielder Spurs were looking for when they signed him from FC Twente. 

With five assists and 13 goals — many of them eye-catching long-range efforts — it is likely we will be seeing his hipster man-bun bobbing up and down the wing with continued frequency next season.

In contrast, Erik Lamela still looks like a shadow of the player that his £30 million price tag led us to expect. Despite some glimpses of his undeniable talent, such as his long-range rabona goal against Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League, he consistently struggled with the accuracy of his passing and the success of his dribbling.

It will be interesting to see whether Pochettino continues to hand him starts with the same inexplicable consistency next year.

With the youngest starting line-up in the Premier League this season, Spurs now have a strong youthful core on which to build. The Europa League will undoubtedly take its toll, as it always does, but if they can hang on to Hugo Lloris while strengthening their defence and attack Spurs should be setting their sights on fourth place.