Former Tottenham Hotspur man and BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has delivered his verdict on his old side’s Premier League title chances this season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side went second in the table with their 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday, but despite that Crooks isn’t hopeful that the club will taste Premier League silverware this term.
“They’ve got the players to do it [win the league] which makes it so frustrating for me,” he said on Final Score. “The issue is do they have the mentality. Do they have what it takes?
“I’ve seen Spurs choke on occasions where they need to come of age. Now, that question is hanging over the players but it’s also hanging over the manager who, by the way, hasn’t won anything in his career. No, I don’t think they will win the Championship.”
"We'll make a journalist out of you yet, Mr Keown!"
Garth tells us whether or not he thinks #THFC can win the league.
Watch: https://t.co/0qzb6xmZ8M pic.twitter.com/CtVxdHzFGt
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) February 2, 2019
OPINION
It’s going to take somebody brave to come out and say Tottenham will win the title this season, but they’re keeping themselves in the conversation. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that the club would be ahead of Manchester City at this stage and behind only Liverpool. That’s a stunning achievement at this point of the season as it is, but there’s no reason why they can’t stick around in the title race over the next few months. Ultimately they probably won’t win the league, Liverpool and City are simply too good, but they are having a wonderful campaign despite that. Crooks is right to question the team’s mentality, though. We have seen Spurs fold in big games, both in cups and in the Premier League, in recent times and so there is a question over how strong they are mentally. Perhaps over the next few months they’ll be able to answer that query once and for all.