‘We are building’ – Nuno speaks on closing the gap with top four teams

Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted that Tottenham Hotspur are still a work in progress and have some way to go before they close the gap on the top teams in the Premier League.

Two back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace and Chelsea have seen Tottenham fall to seventh place in the table after a promising start to the campaign. The Lilywhites are now just three points ahead of Arsenal heading into Sunday’s North London derby.

Finishing in the top four certainly will not be easy for Nuno’s men given how much the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea have invested into their squads over the summer.

Nuno insisted the Lilywhites are not concerned about what other clubs do and are instead focused on their own process.

When asked how his side can close the gap with the top four teams in the league, the Portuguese coach told Football.London: “I’m sorry I cannot answer so well because I only think on a daily process.

“I don’t compare us as a club to anyone else. Each and every club has its own decisions to make. We make ours and we are building.

“The best way to build and to reach where we want to be is we focus on what we have to do today, tomorrow and the day after and so on and so on. Don’t use any kind of comparison to yourself. You must create your own philosophy in where you want to be.

“It’s very early days and I always say from day one, what guides us is not the table. What guides is not even a concern of where other teams are in the table.

“That’s not a problem for us, but Sunday is a different game. It’s not only the points. It’s not only the performance. It’s a different game for us. It’s a special game for us.

“I think the players are aware, we are aware, our fans are aware. Everything changes, the atmosphere on Sunday is apart from all that is happening.”

The Spurs boss also declared that he does not pick his side based on reputation, insisting the eleven is chosen based on what he believes will give the side the best chance of getting a result in each game.

Nuno added: “My confidence and my belief is based on the quality of the players that we have. It’s not too much on what they did before. It’s what we want to do in the game.

“Our decisions are not made of records that players have against special opponents or different opponents. It’s made of what we want for the team on Sunday.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Nuno is obviously not going to publicly admit that Spurs are aiming for a top-four finish as he would just be putting more pressure on himself.

While the 47-year-old deserves time to implement his ideas, I still suspect that he will have to at least lead the club to a top-six finish if he is to remain in the job next season.

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Related Topics

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know