Tottenham striker Harry Kane said the team meeting helped them get back on track with a narrow win at Fulham.
The England captain scored the only goal with a sweet strike into the bottom corner from just outside the box, equaling Jimmy Graves’ record of 266 goals for Spurs’ all-time top scorer.
It was only Spurs’ second Premier League win in six games and came after back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Manchester City.
They are back within three points of the Champions League after only their second league clean sheet since October.
“We’re a little behind where we want to be but tonight was important,” said Kane, who played through illness.
“We communicated well, just to go back to what we are good at, clean sheets, being compact and hard to break down. Then we know we will have chances to score goals and have players who This can be done.
“It was a really important win for us, especially after the last two games, to get back to winning ways.”
Boss Antonio Conte, whose future is uncertain, said: “I got a good response from my players. I asked them about the strength of last season and the will and desire to fight and be flexible.
“We showed that when you play as a team it is difficult to play against us. Today is the starting point for us to give everything and then we will see what happens in the end.”
Kane could have broken the record in the second half but his close-range header was well tipped by Bernd Leno.
Fulham had plenty of chances to keep out Bobby DeCordova-Reid’s long-range drive and Harrison Reid’s snap shot with Hugo Lloris before Kane’s opener.
But it is now a second defeat in a row and the chance to move above Spurs into fifth is gone.
The game started 18 minutes late after travel problems for fans in the area and then problems with referee Paul Tierney’s communications equipment.
Big night for Kane and Spurs
It has long felt inevitable that Kane will become Spurs’ top scorer if he doesn’t move to another club first.
His 199th Premier League goal in exactly 300 games for Spurs meant he equaled Greaves’ record of 266 goals, which had stood for 53 years.
It was a masterful strike from Kane, who took Son Heung-min’s pass with his back towards goal, turned a defender and then picked his spot from outside the box.
Spurs have started a lot of games slowly this season, and this match was no exception. They didn’t go ahead until the 30th minute and could easily have gone behind before Kane’s opener.
The second half was better though, and Kane headed to Leno and then hit a shot late on.
Lloris, who conceded six goals in his last two games – including his own against Arsenal – kept a much-needed clean sheet with five saves.
Fulham are flying despite the loss.
The back-to-back defeats for surprise European chasers Fulham come after five straight wins. They shouldn’t have worried, as those losses were against only two of the six teams in the country ranked above them.
Marco Silva’s side were unlucky to lose to Newcastle and were easily outclassed by the greatest striker in English football history.
As well as DeCordova saving first-half chances for Reid, Reid and Willian, Aleksandar Mitrovic headed into the roof of the net and Manor Solomon’s curling effort was tipped wide by Lloris.
Six minutes into injury time they had a good crack at it but fell short.
“Our goal has been clear from the first moment and people have said we are favorites to go down again,” said Silva. “We came here to fight and stay in the Premier League is what we want to do. Our position in the table is proud, but the Premier League is really tough.
