Yet with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte both missing and Amad Diallo having suffered what is likely to be a season-ending injury this week, Amorim was forced to hand Casemiro his first start since 30 December and named a substitutes’ bench with eight players aged 19 or under who had yet to make a first-team appearance, including Darren Fletcher’s son, Jack.
But while Postecoglou was at last able to call on some experience off the bench to see out this vital victory, that will at least lift some of the pressure on his shoulders for a few days as his side moved up to the heady heights of 12th, by contrast United had to rely on the ageing Casemiro and a bench full of teenagers in an encounter that reflected the struggles of both sides this season.
Vicario, the Italian goalkeeper, hadn’t featured since Tottenham’s 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City in November and was called into action after 10 minutes to thwart Rasmus Højlund - one of only nine touches he would manage in the first half - and then Garnacho as United made a promising start.
On the same day that some Tottenham supporters voiced their displeasure at the chairman Daniel Levy before and after their first league win here since the start of November, Manchester United suffered their 12th defeat of the season courtesy of James Maddison’s first-half goal.
But with Spurs having crashed out of both domestic cup competitions in their last two games and finding themselves 10 points adrift of the top half before kick-off, feelings were clearly running high among the more than 1,000 who joined the peaceful march from Lordship Lane to the ground as they vented their feelings towards the Tottenham chairman.
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