The secrets behind Tim Sherwood's success

Managerial change in mid-season is always a gamble. The hard work in pre-season could be all undone with new philosophy being introduced. A string of poor run usually is a strong shout to send the manager jobless. Andre Villas-Boas might be an exception, compared to his fellows Paolo Di Canio, Ian Holloway, Martin Jol and Malky Mackay who were all sent packing. Despite qualifying in Europa League and just shy of fourth place in Premier League, humiliating defeats to West Ham, Manchester City and Liverpool catalysed his departure.

Old boy Tim Sherwood is Daniel Levy's next chosen one. His unproven managerial ability makes him unlikely the long-term solution, but Tottenham shows renewed confidence and energy under Sherwood. Five wins out of six league games seems to justify the 18 months contract offered by Levy. Curiously, what is the secret behind Sherwood's magic?

Tactical freshness

AVB's impressive first season was more of Gareth Bale's individual brilliance rather than tactical excellence. Since Harry Redknapp's tenure, the 4-2-3-1 formation is not unfamiliar in White Hart Lane, but looked far from lively without a creative attacking midfielder in 2012-13, since the departure of Rafael Van der Vaart and Luka Modric. The influx of attacking talents in the summer could not compensate for the loss of Gareth Bale and AVB's philosophy has completely fallen apart.

There is no stubbornness in Sherwood's tactics. Instead of fitting the players into his system, he finds a system to fit his best eleven. He daringly fielded an attacking 4-4-2  at Southampton that got him a 3-2 victory. Sherwood further fine tuned the formation to accommodate his attacking trio Christian Eriksen, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado and see them concede only three more goals in the next five matches. Playing Swansea away from home, he reverted back to one striker set-up to counteract Swansea's possession football and notched up another win. Sherwood's attempt to bring the best out of his squad is refreshing and promising. Positive results just naturally flow through.

Revival of Adebayor

The true contributor to the timely revival of Adebayor could well be AVB. As Sherwood has admitted, he has not done much other than granting the striker more playing time. Everyone agrees that Emmanuel Adebayor is a top-class striker. At the same time, he failed to impress the Portuguese since his permanent switch to Tottenham. The endless negotiation on the wage demand before his arrival also raised doubts over his motivation in football. His fallout with AVB seems to be inevitable.

With fire in his belly and lots to prove to his former manager, the lazy and uninterested-looking Adebayor last season is once again chasing after defenders and proactive in the final third. His physicality and Premier League experience has also helped settle the struggling Soldado who lately shows a glimpse of quality.

His ability is well-reflected with six goals in his last eight games, but who knows for how long will his fire stay glowing? Even though the Togo international will be thankful to Sherwood for rescuing him from misery, his character off-the-field could just be too unpredictable to handle.

Injuries bring stability

A phrase that does not apply to every team, fortunately for Tottenham they have the depth to mitigate the risk of injuries. Certainly over-crowded in central midfield, the injuries to Brazil duo Sandro and Paulinho ease the headache for Sherwood to pick his midfield partners. Limiting squad rotation enhances the understanding between players, while with some luck, the squad harmony is also maintained, as more players are focused on returning from injury rather than complaining the lack of playing time.

Credit should not be taken away from Sherwood for his determination to drop Etienne Capoue and Lewis Holtby, not to be blown away by their international experience but striving to field the best performing players, notably Nabil Bentaleb. Although still relatively raw, the young Frenchman's composure and intelligence are appreciated under Sherwood.

With Andros Townsend, Jan Vertonghen, Younes Kaboul, Sandro and Paulinho all lining up for return,  how Sherwood works out the correct mix-and-match will be the key to Tottenham's success in the 2nd half of season.

Honeymoon period would not last forever. The next game could be incredibly vital to Tottenham. A solid result at home against red-hot Manchester City will extend their recent run and represent a serious confidence boost. Critics who are uncertain of Sherwood's ability to lead Tottenham to top four, despite having beaten the struggling Manchester United, will surely be convinced. A defeat, even not a heavy one, could see them take a step backward again and Sherwood will need to dig even deeper to restore the order.