Premiership: Tottenham 2 - 0 Sheffield United

With the kaleidoscope of attacking movement that was on display last night, Tottenham's future can be colourful once more.

Martin Jol has referred to Spurs as a "great club, not a big club", due to the contrast between the oft-evoked glories of history and the barrenness of so many years. But the manager's mission to bring fresh success to his team had stuttered on Saturday at Bolton. A 2-0 defeat seemed to suggest that after the heady achievements of last season the pressure of expectation could cause the north Londoners to buckle. Here, though, Spurs displayed the resilience and penetration that will together be necessary if they are to overcome the pressure of their past. "I can't single a player out because everyone wanted to do better," said Jol.

"We didn't do well against Bolton, and we had to do better. That was what we did. I am more than pleased; the only thing we have to work on is to score more goals. We could have scored three or four."

It meant that Sheffield United's hope, inflated at Bramall Lane by the worthy 1-1 draw with Liverpool three days before, was soon punctured. Unable to call on Rob Hulse after the striker failed to recover adequately from the weekend's exertions, Neil Warnock produced a wary line-up.

David Sommeil and Chris Armstrong were employed as wing-backs either side of a three-man defence but even what invariably became a five-man backline could not legislate for Aaron Lennon. The lively winger proved in just seven minutes that he cannot be fettered by such a tactic as double marking. David Unsworth was pulled out of position by Lennon's neat footwork and a gate was open. The England winger dashed through it to the byline and passed across the six-yard box, from where Dimitar Berbatov could simply walk the ball into the net. The Bulgarian seems to be £10.75m well spent.

"He's a natural," said Jol. "He was always going to be a big hit but English football is different and he saw that against Bolton. But he showed his class here. They gave him a lot of support; Lennon did well, Keane did very well, Tainio too."

If anything the lanky former Bayer Leverkusen striker appears too slightly built for the English league but he puts his attributes to good use and his first Premiership goal came from his second chance. The first had come from Robbie Keane's deep cross from the touchline, which saw Berbatov elude Chris Morgan but fail to connect with his far-post lunge.

Although United could not provide the support to their lone striker, Ade Akinbiyi, that might have hurt Spurs, the home side showed how devastating midfield runners can be. After 17 minutes Keane again pulled off his partner to the touchline and delivered a pinpoint cross into the penalty box. Berbatov soared for the flicked header that Jermaine Jenas raced to collect before lifting simply over Paddy Kenny for Tottenham's second. "We were a bit naive, a bit in awe of them and one or two players let themselves down," was Neil Warnock's frank assessment. "One or two of our lads were looking round, not concentrating, but it's down to the quality of the opposition. Lennon was unplayable."

The Blades had been sheathed for most of the game, a rare opportunity coming from a touchline run from Sommeil, whose cross neither Danny Webber nor Akinbiyi could reach. The pulses also rose when the ball arrived at Sommeil's feet. The Frenchman could feel Teemu Tainio approaching from behind and fell to the floor, but the referee Peter Walton rejected the penalty appeals on the basis that there had been no contact. "It was a definite penalty," said Warnock, inevitably. Spurs showed how to create genuine openings. First Berbatov reached the by-line to put Lee Young-Pyo through, but the wing-back shot wildly over; next, with that gate still not shut, Lennon rambled behind the defence, dragging back for Keane, who mishit his shot when he should have scored.

Unsworth was mercifully withdrawn, with Christian Nade providing Akinbiyi the required support. It produced United's first spell of real pressure. Michael Tonge and Keith Gillespie combined, with the central midfielder shooting wide. Then the Spurs defence sat off the forwards, allowing Nade to produce a hanging cross that Akinbiyi wastefully failed to convert.

For all those troubles, Spurs' hope was further stoked by their substitutes. Jermain Defoe rose from the bench and twice stung Kenny's palms and Didier Zokora was always a menace. But United were poor: Spurs' next opponents, Everton will better indicate Tottenham's immediate future.