Pochettino: Wembley exertions could affect Spurs' winter form

With top spot in their Champions League group already assured and no part to play in the League Cup quarter-finals, Tottenham can now focus solely on Premier League affairs – and it is usually around Christmas that they hit top gear.

In 2015/16 Spurs won 10 out of 13 games between December 19 and February 14. Then, on December 14 last term, they began a seven-match winning sequence.

This time, however, there is a complication – the size of the Wembley pitch compared to the dimensions at White Hart Lane, and the extra ground the players have been covering in each home match.

“If we can recover [Erik] Lamela and [Victor] Wanyama and all can feel fresh again, we’re going to be more competitive and strong,” said Pochettino.

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“It’s true that this season we’re beating our physical stats, because when you play at Wembley you spend more energy. The team has improved a lot in the physical stats and now we need to see the effect over the Christmas period.

“It’s new for us but in the same way it’s a very good test because we’re going to play in the stadium we’re building, which will be similar to Wembley – the size of the pitch. It’s a fantastic test for us, to have a better idea for next season.

Impact

“The [time with the] ball in play changes a lot. If you compare White Hart Lane to Wembley, the square metres changes a lot. I think we’re one of the best teams today in terms of effort. We’re on the top. That always has an impact on your physical condition.

“For three years we played at White Hart Lane, it was completely under control. It was high-intensity. But today it’s true that we’re finding different stats, and of course we need to be careful and be right with how we assess [the players] and make our decisions in the next few months.”

If Tottenham do struggle to replicate the form they have shown from December in the last two years then a title bid – which already looks unlikely – will become even less plausible.

Captain Hugo Lloris has seemingly already adjusted his sights. After Saturday’s defeat at Arsenal, which left Spurs 11 points off the top, he said: “Before thinking about City it’s important to stay in the top four. This is the main target for the team.”

Pochettino is also adopting a realistic approach.

“I understand Hugo,” he said. “It’s the feeling. If you came from Mars today or outside of the universe, and you arrived in the Premier League, you’d say ‘oh, Tottenham in the last two seasons fought for the title’ and you would say ‘why not fight to win the league again?’.

“Of course the team needs titles. If not, this is shit. But Hugo, who was here for a long time before, knows it is not easy to be a regular in the top four, like Arsenal was doing for 22 years, and try to be a real contender.

“Hugo is realistic. Of course, he is the first who wants to win titles – the Champions League, the Premier League, everything – but he’s 30 years old and he’s clever and realistic.

“He knows we need to settle the basics, and when we’re a team that’s a regular in the top four and we show we’re real contenders for different reasons, you know better than me and him to expect everything from Tottenham.

“But today the project that we have, the moment that we’re in… Sometimes people become crazy to expect from us to be like Real Madrid or the best Barcelona, the dream team. Sometimes the reality is not related to the expectation.”

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