Spurs showing stomach for the fight, says Poch

ter and personality after a very disappointing weekend,” Pochettino said.

“It was important to show we are focused and fighting. We are showing we learned a lot from last season. That is so important.

“We were fantastic last season and it was a big challenge to improve. A big part of that was the mental attitude, which we’ve improved a lot.

“We are showing we are ready to fight.”

Tottenham’s eighth straight league win was the perfect response after Chelsea opened up a seven-point lead with a 4-2 victory over Southampton at Stamford Bridge 24 hours earlier.

Keen to keep his players from getting ahead of themselves, Pochettino instructed them to forget what Antonio Conte’s Chelsea does and focus on themselves.

“When we are playing we are not thinking about what happened with Chelsea or what will happen in the future,” the Argentine said.

“We closed the gap again. It’s not important to send a message to Chelsea.

“The most important is the victory builds confidence, that’s the only way to catch them.”

Tottenham will be guaranteed to finish above London rival Arsenal for the first time in 22 years if it beats the Gunners on Sunday.

That would be a sweet moment for long-suffering Spurs fans after spending so long in Arsenal’s shadow.

But Pochettino is more concerned with bringing the Premier League trophy back to White Hart Lane than he is with local bragging rights.

Call for calm

Emotions always run high in the match, and the intensity and atmosphere will likely be racheted up a notch on Sunday considering it could be the last north London derby at 118-year-old White Hart Lane stadium before Spurs move to their new home, which is under construction on the same site.

Asked if he was worried his players might struggle to keep a lid on their emotions in the derby cauldron, Pochettino called for calm.

“It’s Arsenal, we know what that game means, but we are not thinking of being above them ... we want to think of bigger things than that,” he said.

“It may be the last derby at White Hart Lane, but now it is important to remain calm. We have to get ready for what should be a very tough match.

“We want to close the gap on Chelsea again. We want to win big trophies, achieve big things. The mentality must be thinking bigger.

“We can speak about finishing above Arsenal at the end of the season.”

Despite the loss, Palace is virtually safe from relegation as it sits seven points above the drop zone.

But the Eagles might have to do without Mamadou Sakho for the rest of the campaign after the on-loan Liverpool defender was carried off with a knee injury.

“It’s a ligament; which one we don’t know,” Palace boss Sam Allardyce said.

“We’ ll have to wait until he has a scan.”