Squad Strength

It is time for Tottenham’s so far, less influential, squad members to perform. Three of last seasons most regular starters are the players I believe manager Mauricio Pochettino will have to rely on when heading into the business end of the season.

Having struggled to remain fit for large parts of the 2015/16 campaign, the 24 year old is back in the squad and looking to play a large part in Tottenham’s title challenge. Mason was a key player for Spurs last season having played in 31 Premier League games, with his determined and energetic performances earning praise from his manager. With team news for the West Ham game suggesting Dele Alli may well be settling for a place on the bench due to injury, this is when Ryan Mason has to step up and perform. In addition, the lack of games he has played so far this season has to benefit him in these concluding chapters.

It has been a poor season so far for the Algerian, with injury and a lack of first team matches the holding midfielder has not progressed as fans were hoping. When he has played this season he has looked lacklustre compared to the energetic nature of the rest of the squad. If this Tottenham side are serious about challenging for the title, Bentaleb will have to play at the level of Eric Dier. With Dier’s yellow card tally on eight, the England International is just two bookings away from a three match suspension, and with two London derbies in just four days Nabil Bentaleb may well have a string of games to show he has what it takes to help his team to the top.

In recent weeks Nacer Chadli has made an increased impact on the side, having come back from injury to play in a variety of attacking positions. Chadli has started to replicate the form that saw the Belgian international collect eleven Premier League goals last season. With Harry Kane’s broken nose, combined with the amount of games the England International has played so far this season, surely the Belgian is going to have to chip in with a few goals to really put the pressure on the teams around Tottenham Hotspur.

With each game seemingly more intense and important than the previous one, Tottenham’s squad is going to have to be on the top of their game and remaining composed, so that they are able to push for the Premier League title. I believe the difference will be made with the squad depth of the challenging teams, so its time for Mason, Bentaleb and co. to step up to the mark.