Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Spurs are champions when it comes to transfer rumours and has requested for those to stop as he feels that it affects his team in a rather negative way. Tottenham’s core team is tied to the club on the long-term, with the exception of Toby Alderweireld, who is yet to sign a contract extension with the club.
There is also uncertainty surrounding Kyle Walker’s future, as The Evening Standard claimed that Spurs are ready to listen to offers in excess of £35million. A lot of such speculations have been doing the rounds in the media and none of it seems to have pleased the Argentine.
Pochettino was quoted by The Evening Standard,
“Of course, no decisions until the end of the season about anything. I understand all the rumours and accept the business, but please a little bit of care about the things. Tottenham is a trending topic in all the rumours, we are champions. In the last two seasons we are more than first. All the players, the board, the staff, we’re all focused to give our best and finish in best way. There’s no point today speaking about things that can only affect the team in a negative way.”
Tottenham are currently 4 points behind Chelsea in the league table and they have a chance to reduce the gap to 1 point by beating West Ham United, even if it means it is temporary. It would put a lot of pressure on Chelsea, who are set to face Middlesbrough this Monday.
When asked about the importance of beating West Ham, Pochettino said:
“I think it’s important for us, of course, and for the Premier League to put pressure, to keep interest until the end of the season. It’s a great opportunity for us to try to reduce the gap and put a little bit of pressure on them. We will play another derby against West Ham and it will be very, very tough game.”
The pressure of playing for establishing the 4-point gap once again will test Chelsea’s character as the title race is set to run down to the final 2 games of the league season. If Chelsea loses to Middlesbrough on Monday (which is unlikely), it would put Tottenham in a great position to close the gap down on the Blues and clinch the league title.
The next couple of games will eventually decide the title winner and we can only hope that it would be Tottenham Hotspur.
