Spurs facing uphill battle for top four: Vertonghen
TOTTENHAM have heaped pressure on themselves by failing to win any of their last four Premier League matches, according to Jan Vertonghen.
Spurs ground out a 1-1 draw at Watford on Saturday, forced to battle for a point after Davinson Sanchez was shown a red card for putting a forearm into Richarlison’s face.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side face an uphill struggle to climb back into the top four, having slipped to sixth in the table.
And now defender Vertonghen accepts Tottenham have serious work to do to set their league season back on track.
“We have to get back to winning ways and we know that,” he said. “We had a run where we had to win a couple of games and we didn’t so I suppose the pressure is a little bit more, but we know we can win these games.”
Watford plundered the early lead at Vicarage Road on Saturday, with Christian Kabasele’s header putting the hosts ahead.
Son Heung-min’s tap-in drew Tottenham level before the break, but the visitors were unable to claim a much-needed victory.
Eric Dier was lucky not to concede a last-gasp penalty for handball, too, leaving Spurs in two minds about the value of their point on the road.
But Tottenham full-back Kieran Trippier insisted they remain unfazed by their recent run.
He said: “We just have to keep going.”
Hornets boss Marco Silva believes his side showed progress from their good performance in the midweek 4-2 home loss to Manchester United.
“We competed against a big team with a lot of quality — that’s our way,” he said.