What do Spurs players need to do to make this a successful season?
The race for a top-four position continues and there's sure to be more drama and unexpected results before we know who will earn the coveted places in next season's elite European competition. After remaining in contention for much of the season, few now give Manchester United, Wolves, or West Ham any hope of making the Champion's League. That makes it a shoot-out between the best London has to offer.
With just a few games to go, the temptation is to look at the remaining fixtures for Spurs, Arsenal, and Chelsea, make predictions for each and then perform the basic calculations to see where each team finishes. This appears to be a fool's errand given the inconsistency of the teams involved and very few would have predicted Chelsea's home loss to Brentford, Spurs' win at the Etihad Stadium or Arsenal's 3-0 humbling by Crystal Palace. So, rather than making predictions, let's look at why making the top four is essential and what we expect to see from the players if this season is going to end successfully.
This means more
There are few who doubt that Spurs need Antonio Conte at the helm if the good times are to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Conte is an elite manager and while he has publicly confirmed his appetite to remain at Tottenham next season, he is ambitious and other clubs would dearly love to have him in their dugout. While the Premiership title odds will no doubt favour Liverpool and Man City again next season, Conte's January business in Juventus duo Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, suggest that with the funds, Conte could build a team to challenge.
Therefore, to match Conte's ambition, gain funds for new players and provide those players with the opportunity to play in the Champion's League, Spurs need a top-four finish. Maybe it's a little hyperbolic to suggest the future of the club rests on a top-four finish, but with Arsenal, you suspect that missing out will have few ramifications as they continue the Mikel Arteta project and Chelsea are in such a mess it would just be another issue on a long list. So, top-four is required, what do the players need to do?
On the pitch
While the goal conceded to Newcastle via a free-kick was an error by Hugo Lloris, it wasn't costly and the hope is that with competition arriving soon, Lloris will be back to his best. Lloris is inevitably aging out of form and a long-term replacement is required, but he's shown enough to hold down the number one slot for now.
Conte requires the back-three to build from the back and Ben Davies, Cristian Romero and particularly Eric Dier, have shown enough improvement this season to suggest they can continue to be the first choice. Davies is the player most under threat to lose his position with possible replacements identified, even though he has performed incredibly well of late. Hopefully, news of an incoming replacement will also spur him on to continue performing. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg needs to keep demanding the ball and look to get involved as much as possible. While Dier has proved effective in bypassing him and spraying long diagonals over the top or to a high wing-back, Hojbjerg needs to offer an out.
Speaking of the wing-backs, Emerson Royal getting on the score sheet against Newcastle from a Matt Doherty cross was hugely encouraging. Both players did a great job out of position and showed the kind of versatility that Conte requires. While Sergio Reguilón is the first choice, players coming in when required and performing are what is needed for the rest of the season.
In terms of Bentancur and Kulusevski, there's very little to say as they've been excellent. It's possible that we'll look back on the January transfer window as one of the best, but for now, let's just be thankful we have Bentancur and Kulusevski to fire towards the right end of the table. The same is true of Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane as the old guard appears to be back to their best and the most fearsome duo in the Premier League.
Much has been made of Kane dropping deep and finding runners, but his goals should also prove crucial in some crunch fixtures coming up. A game-changer off the bench is also needed and Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn seem to be up to the task and after Kulusevski’s arrival, must be happy to play a lesser, but possibly vital role.
There are some tantalizing fixtures on the horizon, but Spurs should have enough to get over the line and can look forward to joining Europe's elite with a first-class manager at the helm.
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