Tottenham Hotspur will not challenge for the Premier League title this season, according to Liverpool legend John Barnes.
Spurs have enjoyed a fine start to the 2020/21 campaign - winning five out of their eight games - which sees them in second-place. Jose Mourinho's side recruited very well over the summer, with eight new players arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
All of the new additions have seemingly settled in very well to life in North London and many, including former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, have tipped Tottenham to win the Premier League title this season.
With Liverpool and Manchester City, who were last season's dominant top two, dropping a few points already this season, other clubs may be eyeing up a title challenge.
Spurs have never won a Premier League trophy, coming the closest in the 2015/16 season. That time around they ended up finishing third despite pushing eventual winners Leicester City in the second half of the campaign.
Despite the strong start to the 2020/21 term, Barnes has delivered a very damning verdict on Spurs' hopes of being crowned champions of England for the first time since 1961. Speaking to BonusCodeBets, Barnes explained: "Tottenham are doing well, but Manchester City and Liverpool are still the favourites for the title.
"They (Tottenham) ground out a victory against West Brom, a game they could have easily lost, but Tottenham aren’t a team who can continue to do that.
"They don’t play with enough consistency, score enough goals, so they are over and above their own expectations now sitting in second position, they are title challengers in the sense they will be in the top four, but they won’t finish in the top two.
"Spurs are always a game away from a disaster or a fan meltdown, and the fans and players will turn on Jose Mourinho as soon as things aren’t going so well.
"They lack the harmony and togetherness that other teams have, the players still don’t look happy to be there, so if Tottenham drop a few points that can easily snowball into something much bigger.
"It is a mentality thing as much as anything else. They will challenge for the third and fourth position at best, but they currently have good momentum that they need to take forward."
When Spurs return from the current two-week international break, they face the tough task of welcoming Manchester City to North London in a clash which could really demonstrate Mourinho's title ambitions.
