Alan Shearer reckons that few people talking about Tottenham’s success this season will “suit them perfectly.”
The BBC Match of the Day pundit also tipped Spurs as genuine contenders for the Premier League title this season, saying that they “going under the radar” in the process – and added that the ability to grind out results without some key players is impressive.
He says that it is now a three club hunt for the title this season, even though he effectively ruled Tottenham out when they lost to Wolves at Christmas.
“While everyone is talking about the top two, few people are talking about Spurs, and that will suit them perfectly,” he said on his Coral blog.
“They’ve won their last three games in difficult circumstances, missing big players in recent weeks, Kane, Son, Alli, and when you can grind out results when things aren’t going your way, that’s an impressive sign.
“When Spurs lost to Wolves at Wembley over Christmas, I did think that was their title chance gone, as you just can’t lose that many games and still be in the hunt.
“But absolute credit to them, they have put a winning run together since then, and with City and Liverpool dropping points, we are now looking at a three horse race for the title. ”
OPINION
There will no doubt be quite a few fans who think that Tottenham are not within a shot of winning the title this season, but the points Shearer has picked up on definitely makes a strong case for them. A sign of a strong side is the ability to grind out good results when luck is not on your side, and that is exactly what Spurs have been doing recently, especially in the absences of Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min recently. Whether they will be able to maintain their current form remains to be seen, after all, Liverpool and Manchester City have very strong squads. Spurs have shown numerous times this season that they are capable of losing to teams lower than them in the league, and this may ultimately define whether they are capable of keeping up a genuine bid for the trophy. Either way, they are showing some good signs, just as Shearer has pointed out.