Thursday 27 December 2018 07:34, UK
Mauricio Pochettino is keeping his emotions in check despite Tottenham moving above Manchester City in the title race.
Fresh from their 6-2 win over Everton, Spurs maintained their hot streak with goals from Christian Eriksen, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane, and a double from Heung-min Son (23,70) as Bournemouth were thrashed 5-0 at Wembley.
The victory moved Pochettino's men up to second in the Premier League table, six points behind leaders Liverpool, after Manchester City lost 2-1 at Leicester.
"I'm trying to keep balance in my emotions," Pochettino said when asked about going above City in the table.
"The way that we work, is paying back now. It doesn't surprise me. We only focus on us, not the opponent. It doesn't mean too much to us to be second or third. The most important position is when you finish in May.
"Now the challenge is to keep this level - it's going to be tougher as when you are there everyone wants to kill you. It's tougher the higher you get. We need to keep humble and work hard. The next game is always more difficult than the one before. If we can keep our level then maybe we can talk about a title challenge at the end of the season."
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Tottenham have achieved their current position against a back-drop of low expectations from the outside. After finishing third last season - 23 points behind Manchester City - a Spurs title challenge was not expected to materialise, especially after failing to sign a player in the transfer window and suffering a delay in moving to their new stadium at White Hart Lane.
Pochettino admits staying positive during those periods of potential frustration has been the catalyst for their strong form.
"In the last six months we haven't complained about anything," he said.
"We haven't complained about signings. We've not complained about the stadium. We've not complained about the fixtures. We've not complained about playing at Wembley when the plan was to play at the new stadium. The fans have been disappointed. Many, many things.
"The one thing we've kept is our belief and positivity. We have created a bubble. We are in this position as we have worked a lot - the staff within the club deserve big credit. We've done things to make us very proud."
