Former Manchester United defender and pundit Gary Neville has claimed that he doesn’t think there is anything “spectacular” about Tottenham following their fine run of form. Antonio Conte has managed to guide Spurs to fourth in the Premier League, managing to find a new gear out of his side.
A 5-1 win over Newcastle was followed up by a 4-0 thumping of Aston Villa after the international break, with the side starting to flex their muscle ahead of a crucial run-in towards the end of the season. Combine that with north London rivals Arsenal and their form, with the Gunners losing to both Crystal Palace and Brighton to put Spurs three points clear.
A top-four finish could see the side make a return to Champions League football, bringing about a useful financial boost, along with the ability to attract high-profile players in the summer. Discussing the change in fortunes at the weekend, Conte said: “I said this before, Arsenal, United and then Wolverhampton and West Ham are with us in the same race for a place in the Champions League.
READ MORE: Matt Doherty injury blow gives Tottenham star new chance to prove himself under Antonio Conte
“To know that your opponent lose their games, and for sure they have to give you the right desire, right will to get three points because in one hand you know our rivals lose the game if we lose, but we are always in the fourth place.”
It shows a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the Italian from a month ago, where it seemed as though fourth was going to go the way of Arsenal. However, despite their form, pundit Gary Neville has claimed that the side are nothing spectacular.
He said on the Gary Neville Podcast on Sunday: “I don’t think they’ve been spectacular in this last couple of months, but they’re almost growing out of the very recent run of Arsenal, and Arsenal starting to drop points, and what Manchester United are doing and thinking… 'hang on a minute.' When you’re starting to play well and the other teams are dropping points, you grow even more. I think that’s what’s happening with Tottenham, I don’t think there’s anything spectacular happening there.
“In fact, a few weeks ago, Conte was in that position where he was saying ‘I need backing in the summer to stay’, if you remember the reports. He got the two players in January, they’re making a big impact. But even after that, there was a point whereby you were saying Arsenal are gonna finish top four, United will, Tottenham… he needs £100million, £150million in the summer, he needs backing to stay."
He also went on to praise the Tottenham front three, with Son Heung-Min, Harry Kane and January signing Dejan Kulusevski all finding the net in recent games. Neville added: “I think Tottenham are basically getting there because they’ve had a bit of experience in the last three, four, five years of getting into the Champions League. You’re almost in some ways thinking ‘over to you Tottenham, you might as well go and take the Champions League space, why not?’ – we know they’ve got an exceptional front two, stroke front three, we know that, but there’s still a lot to play for.”
With matches against Liverpool and Arsenal still to come, the season is still far from over yet. Conte will be getting his players focused, knowing that the job is yet to be finished.
