Spurs have got more in the tank this time as they drive towards finish line
TOTTENHAM’S true test of stamina begins now. Spurs stand on the brink of the most searching examination of Mauricio Pochettino’s assertion his team can compete in three competitions on the anniversary of when it all began to unravel last season.
Spurs exited the FA Cup on February 21, 2016 with a home defeat to Crystal Palace which triggered a run-in comprising just six wins in 17 games as a side brimming with dynamism and vigour for much of the campaign ran out of steam.
They began to throw away leads. West Brom and Southampton capitalised, Chelsea, most infamously did so, too, before their final-day implosion to 10-man relegated Newcastle United.
The strain of a Premier League title challenge manifested itself in different ways.
Some players physically suffered, others, including Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli, lost their discipline, earning damaging suspensions.
Tottenham are clearly progressing under Pochettino but for this season to constitute a genuine step forward, they mustmus stride towards the finish line with conviction and purpose to help estabestablish themselves as perennial challengers.
The weightwei of history has been felt on their shoulderss but it should not transmit to their legs. As much as PochettinoPochet would argue otherwise,otherw fatigue was inevitably a factorfac last term.
The sheer volume of matches placedplac great pressure on key componentscom of a squad short on sufficient depth to deal withw a multiple trophy pursuitp but the numbers bodeb better this time.
Harry Kane’s eight-week absencea with an ankle injury thrustth summer-signing VincentV Janssen into a prominentpr role prematurely but the subsequent benefit is that the 23-year-old had a prolongedpro break from the gamegam after perpetual fears of burnout.bu
HeH has played nearly 800 minutesmi fewer than at the samesam stage last season and Sunday’sSun FA Cup hat-trick againstagai Fulham confirms he is in rurude health — minor injury scaresca aside — for the challenges ahead.ahe
TheT physical gains are smallersm for four other regular starterssta charged with injecting the most energy and creativity into Tottenham’s play but a patternpatt emerges; Alli, Christian Eriksen,Eriks Danny Rose and Kyle Walker have all played less football this season comparedc to the last.
Spurs are at their best when pressing ferociously and relentlessly so these reserves — however marginal — can only benefit their cause.
Tottenham’s summer recruitment should aid them further. There was a degree of consternation when Spurs paid Newcastle £30million for Moussa Sissoko but now is the time for a player who has started just six League matches and been substituted in five of them to make a more telling contribution.
Janssen has also struggled to make an impact in his first six months in England, scoring one League goal in 18 appearances (albeit only five starts) but although Kane (below) is primed to last the pace better this time, he cannot carry the goalscoring burden alone.
Sissoko and Janssen cost £47m combined. Contrast that with the substitutions Pochettino made on the final day of last season when Spurs were 2-0 down at St James’ Park — Tom Carroll, who was considered so important they sold him to Swansea last month and Josh Onomah, a teenager yet to start a League game in his fledgling career.
The fixture list should help them, too. From this point on last year, Spurs faced Arsenal and Manchester
Kane has played 800 minutes fewer than at this stage last term, setting him up for the challenges ahead
United at home with fixtures against Liverpool and Chelsea away (winning one and drawing three). They also lost away at a West Ham side flying high during the good old days of Dimitri Payet.
This time they only have to face Arsenal and United of the current top six, with both games at White Hart Lane. Seven of their final 13 games are against teams in the lower half of the table including three in the present bottom four.
Chelsea’s lead may yet prove insurmountable given their cohesion and form but Spurs can push forward in the knowledge a first trophy since 2008 and second place are both realistic goals. Perhaps sustained pressure may even tell on the Blues.
The chance to finish above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years should sharpen minds regardless.
Tottenham have been higher in the table than their north London rivals after 25 matches in three of the past five seasons but failed to see it through.
On these pages today, Ledley King insists his former team are primed to shatter that glass ceiling, reinforced by two decades of disappointment. They must learn from last season’s immaturity to do so. The conditions appear to be in their favour.