If Tottenham are to regain their stride in the remaining days of 2015, they need more from their most creative player. For much of last season, Christian Eriksen was decisive for this team. He scored late goals to secure victories against Hull, Swansea, Leicester and Sunderland, as well as an equaliser against Sheffield United that sealed Spurs’s place in the Capital One Cup Final.

The Dane finished the season with 12 goals in all competitions, although his assists tally in the league this season is already much higher — six compared with two — statistics tell only a part of the story. At his best, Eriksen is Spurs’s go-to man, drifting inside from the left, demanding the ball and making chances. We have not seen enough of that in 2015-16. There were two brilliant free-kicks to earn a 2-2 draw at Swansea on October 4 but that was one of few decisive displays.

Despite yesterday’s surprise home defeat by Newcastle, which brought Spurs’ 14-match unbeaten league run to a halt, they remain strong contenders for a place in the top four.

Their next three fixtures are against Southampton, Norwich and Watford. Can Eriksen inspire them to victory in those games?

There has been nothing especially wrong with his performances in recent weeks. He is an important part of a promising team. But a player with his talent and ambition — this is a man who believes he might one day represent one of the best clubs in Europe — needs to be the key contributor.

In many games this season, Dele Alli, who was playing in League One last term, has looked a more dangerous attacker than Eriksen. Given their relative experience, this should not be the case, as well as Alli has played. With his Champions League experience and 56 international caps, Eriksen should be the main man, not the support act.

Would Eriksen benefit from a change of role? Many Tottenham supporters believe the Dane should play as a No10, operating just behind the sole centre-forward, and Eriksen considers it his best position. Yet his Tottenham coaches — Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood and now Mauricio Pochettino — have been reluctant to use him there for an extended period.

The theory is that the 23-year-old lacks the pace for a central spot, especially against teams intent on defending. Because he struggles to go past people, he risks being crowded out. On the left, there is more room for him to move inside and join attacks, while creating space for an overlapping full-back.

With Eriksen wide, Spurs have used a number of different players just behind Harry Kane, including Alli, Mousa Dembele, Heung-Min Son, Erik Lamela and even Nacer Chadli.

Eriksen might not be particularly quick off the mark but he uses the ball better than any other Spurs player and has a fine understanding with Kane. Moving him closer to Spurs’ top scorer is a decent option for Pochettino (right) in the coming weeks, especially as Dembele is out with a foot injury.

Alli could drop back alongside Eric Dier in central midfield — the experiment with Tom Carroll in that position against Newcastle did not work — with Eriksen behind Kane and Son and Lamela wide. It is surely worth a go.

The boos that followed the final whistle against Newcastle betrayed the impatience of some Tottenham supporters, yet results like these will happen with a team learning on the job. When the average age of a starting XI is less than 25 — as Tottenham’s has often been this season — mistakes are bound to happen.

Tottenham vs Newcastle - player ratings 13 show all Tottenham vs Newcastle - player ratings 1/13 Hugo Lloris: 5 It is strange to see Lloris make one mistake, but two? The goalkeeper was at fault for both Newcastle’s goals on a day to forget. Julian Finney/Getty Images 2/13 Kyle Walker: 6 Up against Georginio Wijnaldum for most of the match, the full-back coped reasonably well and his forward runs were often a threat. 3/13 Toby Alderweireld: 6 Generally solid but fluffed an attempted goalline clearance, which allowed Aleksandar Mitrovic to score Newcastle’s equaliser. 4/13 Jan Vertonghen: 5 Allowed sub Ayoze Perez to run beyond him for the injury-time winner. Before that, he had mostly dealt well with Papiss Cisse. 5/13 Danny Rose: 6 Always prepared to lend support in attack but struggled at times to deal with Moussa Sissoko. His delivery from wide needs to improve. 6/13 Eric Dier: 6 Excellent header to make the breakthrough for his team and produced his usual unselfish work in the centre of midfield though he faded after the break. 7/13 Tom Carroll: 5 Given his chance after a good performance in the Europa League, Carroll is neat enough in possession but his passing is conservative rather than ambitious. 8/13 Erik Lamela: 7 Twice went close in the first half and was one of Spurs’ most dangerous attackers throughout, while remaining diligent in defence. 9/13 Dele Alli: 6 Played as a No10 for most of the game before dropping deeper when Son replaced Carroll. Bright enough but needs to curb a slightly spiteful streak. 10/13 Christian Eriksen: 6 His corner led to Dier’s first goal but he is still struggling to reach the impressive level of performance he showed for most of last season. 11/13 Harry Kane: 6 Tested Rob Elliot from distance and might have scored at the end of the first half. Would be grateful for better service but he drops too deep at times. 12/13 Heung-min Son: 6 Moved into the No10 role, allowing Alli to drop into central midfield, and wasted a good chance late on. 13/13 Nacer Chadli: 5 His first league appearance for two months and looked rusty when he overhit a pass to Rose from a great position. 1/13 Hugo Lloris: 5 It is strange to see Lloris make one mistake, but two? The goalkeeper was at fault for both Newcastle’s goals on a day to forget. Julian Finney/Getty Images 2/13 Kyle Walker: 6 Up against Georginio Wijnaldum for most of the match, the full-back coped reasonably well and his forward runs were often a threat. 3/13 Toby Alderweireld: 6 Generally solid but fluffed an attempted goalline clearance, which allowed Aleksandar Mitrovic to score Newcastle’s equaliser. 4/13 Jan Vertonghen: 5 Allowed sub Ayoze Perez to run beyond him for the injury-time winner. Before that, he had mostly dealt well with Papiss Cisse. 5/13 Danny Rose: 6 Always prepared to lend support in attack but struggled at times to deal with Moussa Sissoko. His delivery from wide needs to improve. 6/13 Eric Dier: 6 Excellent header to make the breakthrough for his team and produced his usual unselfish work in the centre of midfield though he faded after the break. 7/13 Tom Carroll: 5 Given his chance after a good performance in the Europa League, Carroll is neat enough in possession but his passing is conservative rather than ambitious. 8/13 Erik Lamela: 7 Twice went close in the first half and was one of Spurs’ most dangerous attackers throughout, while remaining diligent in defence. 9/13 Dele Alli: 6 Played as a No10 for most of the game before dropping deeper when Son replaced Carroll. Bright enough but needs to curb a slightly spiteful streak. 10/13 Christian Eriksen: 6 His corner led to Dier’s first goal but he is still struggling to reach the impressive level of performance he showed for most of last season. 11/13 Harry Kane: 6 Tested Rob Elliot from distance and might have scored at the end of the first half. Would be grateful for better service but he drops too deep at times. 12/13 Heung-min Son: 6 Moved into the No10 role, allowing Alli to drop into central midfield, and wasted a good chance late on. 13/13 Nacer Chadli: 5 His first league appearance for two months and looked rusty when he overhit a pass to Rose from a great position.

The eight league draws have also put the brakes on progress and prove Tottenham struggle to finish off opponents when they have the upper hand. Against Stoke, Leicester and Arsenal, Spurs let leads slip, while there were goalless stalemates with Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Against Newcastle, Tottenham often sought the direct route to goal, Toby Alderweireld delivering long passes for Kane or Alli. The tactic, which created a goal for Alli at West Brom last week, made little impression and would surely be unnecessary if Eriksen could start making the difference again.