Tottenham has been struggling to stay consistent this season, and that is because they cannot hold on to leads, according to Roger Clarke, who was on Sky Sports’ Pitch to Post Review podcast.
The Lilywhites had been top of the league table for some weeks this season, but they are now looking to be stable in a top-four position.
Their next opponent will be Liverpool who is struggling for form, but confidence is low that Spurs will take advantage of that to get all the points.
This is because the Lilywhites seem to relax when they take the lead in games, and Clarke reminds us all that they have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season.
He says that because of how unpredictable this season is, Tottenham cannot be ruled out of the title race just yet, but they will have to tweak their style a little to give themselves the chance of challenging successfully for the title.
He said via Sky Sports: “Due to the nature of this title race, you probably can’t rule Spurs out. But I think there’s a reason they’re not being talked about like Manchester United, City or Liverpool, because they have this habit of blowing leads – they’ve dropped 10 points from winning positions this season.
“There have been some proper Jose Mourinho performances this season against Manchester City and Arsenal but also in the way they perhaps sit back on a 1-0 win and get stung, when they should perhaps go on to get a second or third.
“Because of that, they’ve dropped down to fifth. They’re not out of the mix, but perhaps a slight change of philosophy to go a little bit more gung ho.”
When we have a starting 11 of all players Jose trusts we’ll step up to the next level and Im sure we won’t drop back or lose intensity as much.
We’re close, and to get players Jose trusts doesn’t necessarily mean new signings either – Ndombele has developed into a Jose player now.
Still 3 or 4 spots in the team aren’t quite at that level – right back possibly (sometimes Aurier looks good enough though), central defender, central mid alongside Ndomble/Hjobjerg, forward alongside Kane/Son
We need to go to a different mode once we get our noses in front. We stepped it up late on last night and they couldn’t handle it. We need to do that more often, it’s obvious.
Preaching to the mass. Nothing new, nothing not said over and over. We are no longer in that NFL run the clock out formation. We learn to play a defensive system. We just need not to make it be the main tactic once we take a lead. We are playing on the front foot. The top is so bunched 2 to 3 good results and we are top again. My only fear is city. They rounding into form so we need to win moreso when they win and take advantage if they stumble.