Spurs ready to rumble
> Tottenham prepared for fight to the finish against Chelsea, says Pochettino
MAURICIO POCHETTINO claimed Tottenham’s gritty 1-0 win at Crystal Palace showed they were ready to pounce if Chelsea stumble in the title race.
Pochettino’s side closed the gap on leaders Chelsea to four points with five games left after Christian Eriksen’s late strike clinched a victory that looked unlikely for long periods at Selhurst Park yesterday.
Well below their best as they struggled to shake off the frustration of last weekend’s FA Cup semifinal loss to Chelsea, it seemed Tottenham were about to squander a chance to keep pace with Chelsea before finally recovering their composure.
It was exactly the kind of pressure-packed situation that was Tottenham’s downfall last season when they allowed Leicester to wrap up the title after briefly threatening to overhaul them.
But Pochettino is convinced the way his team saw off a formidable Palace outfit bodes well for their chances of being crowned champions for the first time since 1961.
“We showed great character and personality after a very disappointing weekend,” Pochettino said.
“It was important to show we are focused and try to fight. We are showing we learnt a lot from last season. That is so important.
“We were fantastic last season and it was a big challenge to improve again.
“A big part of that was the mental attitude, we improved that a lot. We are showing we are ready to fight.”
Tottenham’s eighth successive League win was the perfect response after Chelsea had opened up a seven-point lead with a victory against Southampton 24 hours earlier.
Keen to keep his players from getting ahead of themselves, Pochettino has told them to forget what Chelsea do and focus on their own performances.
“When we are playing we are not thinking about what happened with Chelsea or what will happen in the future,” he 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.”
Palace are virtually safe despite yesterday’s defeat but boss Sam Allardyce was frustrated that Tottenham's Victor Wanyama was not sent off in the first half.
Wanyama had already been booked when he made a clumsy sliding tackle on Andros Townsend before halftime but was spared a second yellow card.
“The second challenge was the worst. Mauricio (Pochettino) was very clever to sub him at halftime.
“I think the referee made the wrong decision, I don’t think he was brave enough.”
Palace matched titlechasing Tottenham before the break but faded in the second half.
“Our application was outstanding and we gave Tottenham a hell of a game in the first half, nip and tuck, but of course it would happen that we would tire given the lack of recovery time compared to Tottenham,” Allardyce added. – AFP/Reuters