Jermaine Jenas has said that he cannot see Tottenham missing out on a top-four finish this season and insisted that there is not a lot separating his former club and Arsenal.
Some Spurs fans might have held faint hopes of the Lilywhites making a late run for the Premier League title this season but Ange Postecoglou’s men showed on Saturday at Goodison Park why they are still very much a work in progress.
The away side struggled to cope with Everton’s physicality and were never really in complete control of the game, with the Toffees looking dangerous every time they won a set-piece.
There was understandably a lot of frustration among Spurs fans at the side’s inability to hold on for the win, with the result seeing the club drop out of the top four places.
Will Tottenham finish in the top four this season?
However, Jenas insisted that there are still plenty of reasons for Tottenham supporters to be optimistic, insisting that Postecoglou’s men remain favourites for Champions League qualification.
The pundit told BBC Sport: “Spurs had that spell in November where they had all those injuries and suspensions which knocked them a little bit, but here we are at the start of February and they are still only seven points off the top.
“In terms of the title, I think the table is pretty accurate in that Tottenham are just off the pace. This is the part of the season where the best teams start to get stronger and stronger, and they don’t drop points the way Spurs just did.
“If the conversation is about a top-four finish, though, then that’s different. I just don’t see them not getting that now. If Arsenal can pick up their form, it will be them and Liverpool that challenge Manchester City for the title, but I see Spurs as the best of the rest.”
Jenas went on to assert that there is not a lot separating Tottenham from their fiercest local rivals, even opining that his former side might finish no more than eight points behind the eventual title winners this season.
He added: “They are not far behind Arsenal, either. When I go through the players in both teams, I certainly don’t see Tottenham as being inferior at all, and that has been reflected in their results.
“I speak to a lot of Arsenal fans and they always say something along the lines of ‘you lot are annoying the life out of us, because we thought you’d gone’, but I don’t feel as if Spurs are going to go away now.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if, come the end of the season, they are only eight points or so behind the champions, whoever they turn out to be. That would be a decent enough finish for them in Postecoglou’s first season – and I think there is a lot more to come.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If you had told most Spurs fans before the start of the season that the club would be seven points behind the league leaders after 23 matches, they would have bitten your arm off.
The fact that supporters are disappointed with the draw at Goodison Park is in itself a huge credit to Postecoglou as it shows how much the expectations have changed.