Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham Hotspur’s victory over Swansea City showed his team have the mentality they need to become Premier League champions.
Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen sealed what may yet prove to be a vital three points with goals in the last few minutes as Spurs left it late to reply to Wayne Routledge’s first-half opener.
Son’s goal saw Tottenham’s players celebrate wildly before Eriksen set the seal on a dramatic victory that leaves Pochettino’s side seven points behind Chelsea following the league leaders’ win against Manchester City.
The Spurs manager said: “I believe we can win every game if we play like this evening and then we’ll see. It’s important to go game by game. We missed some players here but the collective spirit was fantastic.
“The win happened because we never gave up; we tried, tried and tried. Our play deserved the win because it was a difficult game. It was tough because they are difficult to break down.”
Tottenham’s win was a fine riposte to the Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, who suggested this week that Tottenham lack the winning mentality found inside the Stamford Bridge dressing room. Chelsea remain overwhelming favourites in the title race, but Pochettino’s manic celebrations in front of the away end at full time showed he is up for the fight.
“I respect Antonio Conte very much. I didn’t hear him say that, but it’s true if you compare us with Chelsea in the last 10 years, Chelsea have won titles and we haven’t,” Pochettino said.
“To create the winning mentality you need this type of game, belief, and you need time. It’s important to show that we learned, because maybe last season this was a game we would’ve lost.”
Spurs were without their captain, Hugo Lloris, who pulled out due to illness before kick-off, and the injured Victor Wanyama. Both players are expected to be in contention to face Watford at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Pochettino added: “We hope Hugo will be well again. Victor wasn’t 100% to be in the team or on the bench, but we hope to have him back on the weekend.”
