If this, as Gary Megson stressed repeatedly, did not constitute a job audition then it was at least a happy blast from the past. To the outsider, West Brom’s caretaker manager works from a similarly dogged playbook to Tony Pulis, the man whose misfortune has been his temporary gain; where they differ is that Megson is revered at the Hawthorns and a draw that could have been so much more did nothing to alter his standing.

Had Salomón Rondón, whose early goal was cancelled out 16 minutes from time by an otherwise quiet Harry Kane, not diverted a glorious chance wide in stoppage time, Megson’s return to front-line duty would have been crowned with three points against a torpid Tottenham. Megson took Albion up from the Championship twice in the early 2000s and they did not play like a team in much danger of returning there now, their speed and alertness perhaps feeding from the positivity of a coach who had assumed days liked this were behind him.

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“I decided two and a half, three years ago that if I’m not getting jobs I’ll go travelling, golfing, whatever,” Megson said. “This has whetted my appetite again. I enjoyed being on the touchline, I think I’m good at it.”

His enthusiasm could be forgiven: Megson’s last match as a No1 had been a Sheffield derby on 29 February 2012. He had seemingly been bracketed among yesterday’s men but there was nothing stodgy about West Brom at Wembley. They raced out of the blocks and the difference in sharpness between the teams was emphasised by the opening goal. Dele Alli was too casual in seeking to turn into space and was mugged by Jake Livermore; Davinson Sánchez was similarly lax in allowing Rondón, via a perfectly fair nudge, to reach the through ball first and the Venezuelan striker slotted his finish past a static Hugo Lloris.

That was in the fourth minute and it put the onus on a Tottenham side whose struggles at home against lesser opponents are a concern. Mauricio Pochettino leaned upon the stats afterwards: Spurs conceded just two shots on target and not a single corner, he remarked, while themselves carving out “a lot of chances, situations“. It was one of those occasions where the eyes tell a more accurate tale. Tottenham huffed and puffed throughout, even after Kane squeezed in Alli’s deflected cross to give them what should have been a platform to push for victory. They dominated possession but West Brom, who saw the 19-year-old midfielder Sam Field reward Megson’s faith with a mature performance, were rarely carved open and looked brighter in every department than during the unhappy latter days under Pulis.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Salomon Rondon scores West Brom’s opener against Tottenham Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

By the hour Pochettino had seen enough sloppy thinking, bringing on Fernando Llorente and Mousa Dembélé for Harry Winks and, notably, the defender Jan Vertonghen. The idea was to bludgeon their way back in but the reward was not enough and, with Manchester City in line to move 13 points ahead of Spurs if they win at Huddersfield on Sunday, a struggle to remain in the top four now seems far more likely than a title challenge.

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“It is massive in the Premier League,” Pochettino said of the gap. “But now we need to be focused on trying to improve and be more consistent here at Wembley.”

His tone was spiky; it was Megson, clearly enjoying himself in rarefied surroundings, who held court more willingly afterwards in the knowledge that he may not be doing so again. West Brom do not expect their hunt for a new manager to drag on and Alan Pardew has been heavily linked with the position. Megson will probably have to look elsewhere.

“I’m not going to traipse around the country for two dead frogs and a conker each week,” he said; it was, though, an afternoon to give a club, and one of its old heroes, fresh life.