Jamie Redknapp said that Tottenham Hotspur would still be top of the Premier League standings if they had not been hit by the injury crisis.
Ange Postecoglou’s charges have lost almost their entire squad to injuries and suspensions over the past month and a half, but Pape Matar Sarr, Cristian Romero and Richarlison are now back in the game.
While the Lilywhites are still without James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic, their starting eleven looks much more formidable now than it did a few weeks ago.
Spurs showed on Sunday against Newcastle how good they can be when they put their minds to it, and the Magpies were smashed.
Redknapp discussed the team Postecoglou is building in north London and remarked that his former team will go down fighting this season.
The presenter told Sky Sports (10/12/23 – summarised by Football.London), “If we had Van de Ven [and others], we would be top of the table in my opinion.
“Players had to play in different positions, now they are starting to move past that. It was a great performance, even after this period they are only seven points away from the top. He (Postecoglou) has made them one of the most watchable, which shows how quickly things can change when you get the right manager.
“They have had a bad run recently, but I have a lot of faith in him (Anže). He has done a great job so far, he has changed this club for the better. He is a joy to watch. They will lose games, but they will come out fighting.”
Despite their poor form since the start of November, Spurs are only seven points behind leaders Liverpool, but Redknapp has hinted that talk of a Tottenham title challenge is premature.
Asked whether Postecoglou’s men could challenge for the title, he replied: He replied: ‘Not yet. I don’t think they are ready for that yet. They can come back in the top four. Their way of playing is quite unique. It causes so many different problems to other teams. It is almost revolutionary.
“I like to see it. Everybody looks at the full-back role and he’s changing it. So quickly he’s made a real difference to the way they play.”
This year’s Premier League seems to be quite unpredictable, with several of the top teams capable of beating each other.
Once Maddison and Van de Ven are back in the game, we need to make sure we are within touching distance of the Champions League places.
I expect us to be much stronger in the second half of the season, as the players now have a better understanding of Postecoglou’s system.