Premature abandonment of protocol
In real-life rescue situations, it is well documented that the most dangerous moment comes right before safety. Emotional exhaustion takes over and, most dangerously of all, protocol begins to disappear.
[BBC] [Getty Images] Over the last few months we have had hope, lost it and then found it again. Eight points from our last 12 available, combined with West Ham picking up only three, has left us on the verge of rescue. The impossible has become probable.
But Spurs fans have been around the block enough times to know you are not safe until you are wrapped in foil and someone has handed you a hot drink. In real-life rescue situations, it is well documented that the most dangerous moment comes right before safety. It is known as the rescue paradox.
The moment safety becomes something you can visualise, complacency creeps in. Emotional exhaustion takes over and, most dangerously of all, protocol begins to disappear. Everything that got you to the point of rescue is forgotten.
The discipline, the focus, the hard work. The moment mountain rescue appears over the horizon, people relax. Exactly a decade ago, with two games remaining, Tottenham needed just one point to finish above Arsenal for the first time in a generation.