Pundit Robbie Savage has named Tottenham as the ‘biggest overachievers’ in the Premier League this season.
Tottenham secured a second-placed finish in the Premier League during the 2016-17 season, finishing seven points adrift of champions Chelsea in the title race.
They also sealed qualification for the Champions League for the second successive season, despite spurning their opportunity to win the league title.
Spurs’ late capitulation in the title race saw their mentality criticised, but Savage has refused to accept them as ‘bottlers’, having won nine of their ten games at the business end of the season.
In his latest column for the Mirror, the pundit delivered a glowing verdict on Tottenham’s season, giving them a five star rating out of five for their efforts.
He said: “They were a washout in Europe, but Spurs were the only side to give Chelsea a run for their money in the title race and I’m not having any nonsense that they ‘bottled it.’
“Nine wins in a row, and losing the 10th game, is not bottling it. In terms of wage structure and transfer spending, they were the biggest over-achievers.
“And Harry Kane collected another Golden Boot.”
Savage also revealed that he had predicted Tottenham to finish fifth in the Premier League last season.
The 1-0 defeat to West Ham on May 5 proved to be the moment Tottenham saw their title hopes slip away, but they responded superbly by winning their final three matches of the season.
Tottenham defeated Manchester United 2-1 a week later, but it was the emphatic 6-1 and 7-1 wins over Leicester and Hull that provided a stunning finish to the season for the north Londoners.
Goalscorer Harry Kane netted an incredible eight goals during those three outings, a run of form which saw him record a comfortable victory in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.
But aside from their title race slip-up, the only real negative from Tottenham’s season was their failure to challenge in European competitions.
They finished third in their Champions League group, and were later eliminated from the Europa League knockout stages with a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Belgian outfit AA Gent.