Neutral? ‘I’m from north London’ – it wasn’t hard to guess who our man in the Bilbao press box wanted to win last night’s final

SPURS will parade silverware in an open top bus through Tottenham tomorrow (Friday) afternoon – after winning the Europa League here in Spain.

The celebrations in both north London and Bilbao were in full swing as the New Journal went to press.

Ange Postecoglou’s much-maligned side saw off Manchester United with a battling 1-0 victory.

It was a Brennan Johnson goal just as half time approached which proved to be enough to hand the Lilywhites the trophy in a game low on chances and quality.

The win also means Tottenham will play with Europe’s elite again in next season’s Champions League and not face Thursday nights in the Arctic Circle.

It was a lifetime ago when Spurs last lifted a European trophy and fans have long had to live off the memories of their 1984 UEFA Cup success over Anderlecht.

But in the 49,000-seater Atletico Bilbao stadium, a batch of Spurs players huffed and puffed their way into the club’s history.

Johnson’s winner was a scuff of a goal but then a resilient second half kept a desperate United team at bay. That was a remarkable achievement in itself, considering how many times this side has been turned over in the league this season.

Those 21 defeats were forgotten as Spurs showed a streetwise ruggedness they have not displayed in the Premier League.

Speaking after the match, Postecoglou was forthright in his assessment of the achievement.

“I am super proud of the players,” he said.

Ange Postecoglou ‘always win something in his second season’

“It’s hard to put into emotions. This is one for the true believers and that means an unbelievable group of players, who never wavered and never lost faith in me and what we were doing.

“The coaches, staff, people who work at Lilywhite House, the training grounds, the supporters, but every supporter I bumped into was so kind and reassured me more that they were believing in me and what I as doing.

“Just seeing them tonight the impact it has had on them – 40 years in Europe some of them have never had a night like this.”

United had started well, making Spurs work to close them down, but it was to prove to be early blood and thunder with no substance.

Rodrigo Bentacur offered balance and tempo in midfield, Cristian Romero leadership in defence.

Spurs soon settled, got hold of possession and looked dangerous every time they got forward.

The goal came when Pape Sarr, who would not have started if James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski or Son Heung-Mon had been fit to start, lobbed a ball to near post. Johnson snuck in behind the United defence to clip the ball home. Postecoglou said after the January transfer window, he had decided he wanted to concentrate on scooping a Champions League place next season by winning the Europa League.

He said: “I made a decision there and then that this was the trophy we were going for. I really believed we could win this.

“Everything we have done since then and the teams is about making sure when this came around we were in the best possible position to tackle it.”

Maybe it was a high risk strategy but one which garnered a big shiny cup.

This was not a game for the purist, but the 25-odd-thousand in white celebrating into the Spanish night did not give two hoots about how it was achieved.

And the manager said it will provide a platform for bigger things.

“I think this will accelerate the opportunities to build a team that is successful and competitive.”