London: Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is convinced his players are starting to believe they can deliver the Premier League title to White Hart Lane.
Pochettino’s side moved into second place, five points behind leaders Leicester, after a 1-0 win over Watford at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
The north Londoners took advantage of Leicester’s victory at Manchester City to move above Manuel Pellegrini’s side ahead of their crucial visit to Eastlands next weekend.
A victory there would underline Tottenham’s title credentials, but Pochettino has no doubts his side can sustain their challenge and be crowned English champions for the first time since 1961.
“I believe in my players, I believe in my squad. We will see. It is difficult to guess what will happen in the future,” Pochettino said.
“In football belief is the most important word. If we believe, anything can happen. I believe in my squad and they believe too in the way we play. This synergy is very important for the future.
“You can see in their eyes, the feeling, the energy that they believe. But it is better not to speak too much, only show, work hard.
“This is the better way to show we are ready to compete. And after, we see what happens, but the most important thing is to do rather than speak.”
Few would have predicted a top two of Leicester and Tottenham at this late stage of the season, but Pochettino isn’t surprised by his team’s rise or the stunning ascent of the Foxes.
“The gap we have now with Leicester is five points. We are in a very good position but we need to keep working and not think too much about the future so we can be ready to compete again like we did today,” he said.
“For me, historically Tottenham is bigger than a lot of clubs in England. It is not a surprise we are in a good position.
“Maybe in the last few years but in the past Tottenham showed they are one of the best or one of the bigger clubs in England.
“Leicester fully deserve their position and how they won the game they completely deserved it because they were better than Manchester City.
“But our position, we do not look at Leicester or different clubs. The challenge is to win and improve every day in every competition and we see what happens in the end.”
Kieran Trippier’s first goal for Tottenham was enough to seal the points against Watford, although the home side’s domination meant the margin of victory could have been much wider.
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores admitted his side had been out-played and conceded the demands of a testing week that also included a midweek draw with Chelsea had taken its toll.
“We had three players who haven’t trained since the last match. We have Valon Behrami, Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney. Three players who we didn’t know the exact (fitness) level,” he said.
