Spurs are close to winning the Premier League

It’s a question of when, not if, Spurs lift the PL trophy.

Before their (slightly fortuitous) 2-2 draw against Manchester City last weekend, Tottenham had been on an impressive six-match winning streak which saw them go from Champions League spot contenders to possible late-season title challengers.

Despite a fine run of results, Pochettino’s side still find themselves some nine points adrift of the pace-setters. Conte and Chelsea are in the middle of a season for which opposing managers simply can’t legislate: they’ve won over 80% of their games so far this campaign, shipping only 15 goals along the way.

While it’s a little too early to dish out any winners’ medals, few would bet against the trophy heading to Stamford Bridge again in May, which means Tottenham’s long wait for a title – Elvis was top of the charts the last time they were English football champions – will have to go on for at least another year.

But Spurs fans need not despair: if anyone is the right man to guide the club to Premier League glory, it’s definitely Pochettino. The Argentine has succeeded where so many of his predecessors failed by instilling his team with a semblance of footballing identity – one which (for the most part) isn’t characterised by a tendency to bottle the big occasions.

Last season – Pochettino’s second in the White Hart Lane dugout – Spurs came as close as they have to tasting title success in the Premier League era, their late surge up the table thwarted at the death by a combination of Leicester’s stubbornness and their own indiscipline in that game at Stamford Bridge.

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Having came so close, many positioned them as potential winners this time around – particularly while many of their rivals appeared to be in the throes of transition. Daniel Levy also resisted any summer advances for their key players, while managing to add some much-needed depth to the squad. The signs were promising, and but for an improbably good Chelsea side, it might’ve been their year after all.

Luckily, this Spurs side is young enough to wait another season. Leading lights Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli are still all in their early 20s, while the support cast – led by the likes of Hugo Lloris, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen – are by no means old, despite having so many miles on the clock.

Keeping the vultures at bay won’t be easy, particularly when it comes to Alli, who is already being linked with a big money move to Real Madrid (Tottenham fans, more than most, know how it usually ends when the Galacticos come calling), but just as there was life after Gareth Bale, Pochettino’s side can find a way to adapt if they lose one of their marquee names.

Next: Liverpool are officially a club in crisis

If not this season – indeed, if not next – Spurs will eventually land the Premier League title. It’s been a trend around Europe for ostensibly smaller clubs to challenge their country’s established order (and nowhere more so than in England). Everything is in place for Tottenham to follow suit, and it’s only a matter of time before they do.

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