Tottenham legend Graham Roberts has admitted that the club must temper their aims this season and look to stay in the top four after their 2-1 defeat by Leicester on Tuesday.
Breathtaking first-half goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez saw Leicester take a 2-0 lead, and Spurs were unable to find a way back despite Harry Kane’s goal in the 79th minute.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side fashioned out several clear opportunities against the Foxes, but were guilty of a couple of glaring misses from Christian Eriksen and Fernando Llorente.
The loss was Spurs’ fourth of the season, equalling the amount of defeats they suffered over the whole of last year, and leaves them in a precarious position at the top end of the table.
The result saw Spurs remain out of the top four and with Arsenal and Liverpool both playing on Wednesday it could see them drop to four points off the Champions League spots.
Roberts has now said the club must merely aim to keep their Champions League spot this season, and then use that as a springboard for the future.
Hit a hard run at moment we all need to get behind the lads and manager keep within top 4 and see were we can go from there. Fans were excellent when losing last night.
— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) November 29, 2017
OPINION
With the immense quality that is being shown at the top end of the Premier League this season, particularly by the Manchester clubs, a top four finish would still be an achievement for this Spurs side. Pochettino’s men cannot afford to drop out of the Champions League with their new stadium on the horizon, and that must be the main aim for the season now. Manchester City will be 16 points ahead of Spurs if they win on Wednesday against Southampton, and so the title is looking a distant possibility. There are six high-quality teams gunning for those four spots, and Spurs must now focus their efforts on securing Champions League qualification ahead of their move next year.