Toby Alderweireld has revealed where the current Tottenham Hotspur squad should have finished in the Premier League this season if they had played to their potential.
Just a few weeks ago, Tottenham were the favourites to get relegated, and it was difficult to see how the Lilywhites could muster up the points they needed to stay up.
However, back-to-back away wins at Wolves and Aston Villa, along with a poor string of results for West Ham, have now completely changed the complexion of the relegation battle.
Roberto De Zebri’s men are now in the driving seat to stay in the Premier League, needing just a point in their final two league games to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next term.
Toby Alderweireld claims Tottenham should be finishing mid-table
While De Zerbi has undoubtedly turned around the club’s fortunes since taking over, Alderweireld believes that his former club should never have been in this position to begin with.
The 37-year-old suggested that the Lilywhites should not have dropped below midtable, given the quality they have at their disposal.
When asked about Spurs’ situation this season, the Belgian told The Times: “I don’t want to kill them, and I don’t want to put pressure on them, but no one, not just in a small period but in a full season, has played well, and that’s not something that can happen at Spurs. You can have one or two bad games, but not a whole season.
“This is a squad to be around mid-table in the league, not relegation for sure, but if you compare this squad to the squad we had, there is a big difference.”
Alderweireld does not accept pressure as an excuse for Spurs’ performances
De Zerbi has suggested that the fear of relegation has been the big problem at Spurs over recent months, making it clear that his priority has been to change the players’ mentality.
Some pundits have even suggested that Tottenham are struggling to cope with the pressure of their fans when they play at home, but Alderweireld insists that it cannot be an excuse.
When asked if the Lilywhites have not coped well enough with the pressure this season, the former Spurs centre-back said: “There is pressure but that’s the job, when you play for a big club — there is pressure.
“Everyone wants to play for a big club and when they get there, they need to accept they play with pressure. It’s impossible to play for a big club and not play with pressure. OK, Eden Hazard, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, maybe they don’t feel pressure, I don’t know, but normal people, they feel pressure. You have to handle it.”
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