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Jermaine Jenas exclusive: Why Tottenham and Liverpool will hold an advantage in the title race

In his latest exclusive column, Jermaine Jenas says two clubs in particular will be backing their chances to win the league - once Manchester's honeymoon is over.

The much-heralded managerial appointments of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have been going entirely to plan for their clubs so far, with both Manchester City and Manchester United starting the season with two wins and being quickly installed as everyone's title favourites.

But anyone who thinks Guardiola and Mourinho are going to walk it this season should think again. This is set up to be one of the most open title races for a long time. There are at least six teams with a shout of winning the league - add Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool to the two clubs already mentioned - and I don't expect we'll see too many long unbeaten runs. A lot of those teams will beat each other.

While the focus is on those new managers in Manchester, as well as Antonio Conte at Chelsea who has also made a 100 per cent to his Premier League career, I actually think it's the contenders without new bosses that will have an advantage. Particularly Tottenham and Liverpool.

Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp have already spent valuable time honing their squads, and that should give them an edge on their rivals.

Liverpool had a setback against Burnley, but in general I expect them to be a lot stronger and more consistent this season. We've already started seeing it when they play the big teams, and it's all because Klopp has had more time to work with the team and mould it to his own vision.

After losing 2-0 to Burnley, Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool must do better in attacking positions.
After losing 2-0 to Burnley, Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool must do better in attacking positions.

Spurs, meanwhile, have a manager who has given them a winning mentality, which is a huge shift for the club.

Arsenal, of course, also have the benefit of managerial stability, but it's fair to say they have reached a plateau, whereas Spurs and Liverpool are on the upswing after being revitalised by their managers.

While City and United have got off to flying starts, it takes a lot longer than that to build the finished article. Getting a new manager doesn't instantly make you a better team.

The so-called honeymoon period when a manager arrives at a new club is a well-documented phenomenon, and with good reason. A new manager invariably provides a short-term boost and United, City and Chelsea are reaping the benefits of that right now.

It's a clean slate for everyone, a fresh chance to impress and get back into the team, and people raise their game. Plus, if it's someone with the stellar reputation of Guardiola or Mourinho, as a player you simply don't want them to think you're no good.

But that period can only last so long. Namely, until a few players get stuck on the bench and cast aside, potentially becoming unhappy and affecting the overall morale of the group. That's when the initial burst of universal optimism slowly but surely evaporates.

Right now, Guardiola and Mourinho will be looking around their squads and seeing players they don't want, and that can be unsettling for the group.

Pep Guardiola is already stamping his mark over his City squad
Pep Guardiola is already stamping his mark over his City squad

Spurs and Liverpool don't have that problem. They've done their clearing out already and are where their managers want them to be. They've also had more time to buy the players they want and identify their weaknesses.

Despite the large amounts of money spent by Guardiola and Mourinho over the summer, they are perfectionists. They will know better than anyone that they need to improve.

Mourinho has acknowledged as much, remarking that his players need to be reprogrammed after two years playing in a very specific style under Louis van Gaal.

Guardiola's methods are likely to cause even more upheaval. His changes are already evident - David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne playing in deeper positions, for example. Does that mean we will see less goals from De Bruyne this season?

It's exciting, of course, but it's also different - and that means it won't always click to perfection.
There will  be moments where the players' adjustment to a new style of play will be difficult. And if you don't adjust, you're gone.

Just to give a small example, when Andre Villas-Boas arrived at Tottenham he implemented ideas that I - and some of the other midfielders (Sandro for instance) - found difficult. In training sessions whenever we received the ball from the back four, he wasn't happy with our position. He'd literally stop the session and move us two yards.

When you've been playing central midfield at a high level for your entire career and you're comfortable doing it a certain way - and then someone is suddenly adamant that you should do it a different way - it can be hard to get your head around.

Positioning yourself two yards differently on a football pitch might sound like a small thing, but in AVB's case he was so strict about it that if you didn't do it his way, you didn't get in the team. Simple as that.

Managers are getting more and more technical and players have to become more disciplined to accept their changes, otherwise they don't get in the team.

Of course I wouldn't compare AVB to Guardiola and Mourinho, because he hasn't achieved what they have in the game, but they are both meticulous men and those are exactly the kinds of situations some players at United and City will be facing now.

Meanwhile, Tottenham can come back this season and almost be on auto-pilot. They can get straight back into the mode they were in last season.

As for Liverpool, it's clear they concede too many goals, but it looks as if this Klopp side will be like Newcastle back in the days of Les Ferdinand and David Ginola - more likely to win 4-3 than 1-0. Going forward is their strength, and I'm looking forward to seeing Sadio Mane in that team because he adds a different dimension.

For Mourinho and Guardiola, there is still work to do. It will take a while before those sides achieve the kind of consistency their managers demand.

You only have to look at Mourinho's first season back at Chelsea in his second spell at Stamford Bridge as an example. The first year was one of transition, the following year he dominated the league and won it.

By January, Mourinho and Guardiola may have found their rhythm, and ultimately you can see both the Manchester clubs battling it out of the title for the next four or five seasons. They will only get stronger.

But that's exactly why Tottenham and Liverpool have to make the most of their advantage now. Over the course of the whole season, it could be the factor that decides the title.