A few months ago, Tottenham were still seen as being a part of the title race, along with Manchester City and Liverpool, but they now find themselves more than 20 points behind the front two.
Tottenham’s poor run has seen them dragged back into the race for the top four spots along with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
After the defeat against West Ham last weekend, Spurs still need one win to secure Champions League qualification and will hope to get it when they travel to Bournemouth this Saturday.
Ahead of the game, Tottenham manager Pochettino has given an explanation for Tottenham’s poor league form in the past few months.
The Argentine insisted that apart from the distraction of European competition, there was a drop in the players’ motivation levels after the club bowed out of title race in February, after looking like they could push the front two all the way.
Speaking during the pre-match press conference, the 47-year-old told Football.London, “In that key moment, when the objective of the Premier League [title] is finished, it’s difficult to keep fighting.
“It’s not just us, it’s also happened with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, who are focusing on a semi-final of the Europa League. It’s not easy.
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“In our case, it’s different. The circumstances we have in the team make it tougher to fight for our objectives. It’s so tough.
“Liverpool and Manchester City have unbelievable squads, they arrive in a very good condition at the end of the season. It’s easier to keep going, with the motivation to keep going.
“In general, it’s tough when you finish and you can it’s so far the Premier League [title], and you compete for that, maybe you can drop a little in your motivation.
“In our situation the circumstances of how we arrive in this moment, the team struggles a little bit. It’s going to be tough. That is why my call is we need to be all together, don’t think too much, and try to deliver in this key moment.”
Spurs Web’s take:
It certainly makes sense that the players found it difficult to recover from the sucker punch of being knocked out of the title race but with a top four spot on the line, the players should it find it easy enough to be motivated for games.
Pochettino’s men are fortunate that the other teams around them have been equally poor recently or they would have already dropped out of the top four.
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