Tottenham Hotspur are in a poor run of form right now.
Pundit and former manager Alan Curbishley has told Sky Sports’ The Debate that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur will be better off next season for their experiences this term.
Spurs’ poor run of form continued on Saturday afternoon, as they could only draw 1-1 at Watford, with Son Heung-min bagging an equaliser after Christian Kabasele’s opener.
It’s now just two points from four Premier League games since the international break for Spurs, and they have conceded the first goal in each of those games as Mauricio Pochettino’s men slip out of the title race.
Now sitting 18 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City, Tottenham appear to have no chance of winning the title, and must now hope for a top four finish to return to the Champions League.
Intriguingly, Tottenham are excelling in the Champions League having dropped just two points in their five games this season, even beating Real Madrid at Wembley to book their passage into the knockout stages of the competition.
Many believe that Tottenham need to focus on the bread and butter of the Premier League rather than focusing on the Champions League, and former West Ham boss and current pundit Alan Curbishley has had his say.
Curbishley has told Sky Sports’ The Debate that he thinks Toby Alderweireld is a ‘big loss’ in defence, but noted that the likes of Danny Rose, Erik Lamela, Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama are still to come back as regular first-team contributors for Pochettino.
Curbishley added that this season’s experience of playing big games so regularly will help Tottenham’s players for next season, but feels they may struggle to get back into next season’s competition due to the strength of the top four.
“It’s a big loss,” said Curbishley. “When you look at their squad, they’ve got players like Danny Rose, Lamela, Dembele, who have not been playing, and Wanyama in midfield as well, so they have got those players to come back in. I think the problem is coping with these big games every week; they’re not used to it and what you need to win them. That’s a learning curve, and they’ll be much better off next year because of it, if they can quality for the Champions League.”
“That education that those young players are getting will hold them in good stead, but unfortunately for Spurs, it’s such a tough top four to break into – they can’t afford any more mishaps, they’ve got to be full-on now, all the way until the end of the season if they’re going to make the top four,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
