Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou says his side are ‘hanging’ in title race

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says his side are “hanging in” the Premier League title race.

Postecoglou’s side picked up just one point from five matches in November and early December, but have since won four out of five in the league.

Tottenham are fifth in the table, six points behind leaders Liverpool, and visit Manchester United in their next game on Sunday.

“By definition, we are aren’t we? So, yes we are,” Postecoglou said.

“I’ve said all along that until the point where you’re not, why would you discount the possibility?

“We’ve gone through a really tough period and we’re hanging in there. We had four games when results went against us, but we’ve clawed our way back. We’re still in there.

“Our performances for the most part have been pretty consistent, but all that is meaningless if we don’t finish the season stronger than the first half of the season and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

It was expected to be a season of transition at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Postecoglou took charge and the club’s record goalscorer Harry Kane was sold to Bayern Munich before a ball was kicked.

They have been hampered with injuries but they have enjoyed a resurgence – and have added German forward Timo Werner and Romania centre-back Radu Dragusin to their squad this month.

Postecoglou added: “We have scratched and clawed our way into a decent position in the league, we’re into the next round of the cup, those possibilities are always there.

“And we certainly want to tackle them as robustly as possible without any fear – or fear of not achieving anything.

“We’ve done it from day one. We’ve had a vision of the sort of football we want to play and some parts are really, really good and have surprised me with the progress, and other parts we’re still in the early stages of development.

“We’ve got a platform here to kick on and try on from here.”

Meanwhile, the Spurs boss has suggested new signing Timo Werner is a “different player” from the one that struggled at rivals Chelsea.

Werner scored 23 goals in 89 appearances and won the Champions League with Chelsea.

Postecoglou says “what happened in the past is not relevant”.

“I don’t look too much into that,” said the Tottenham manager.

“I’m looking at what he can give us today, not what happened three or four years ago.

“I’d dare to suggest he’s a different player, certainly a different person. We all evolve. He’s more mature probably at a different stage of his life.”

Werner could be utilised in the Spurs front three as a replacement for Son Heung-min, who is on international duty with South Korea at the Asian Cup and could miss the next four league games.

“When talking about players coming in, it’s about ‘do I see them playing in the team I’ve got and I’m creating?’,” Postecoglou added.

“Particularly with Son going away for such a period of time, we still felt we needed another player in the front third.

“Timo was at a point where he was looking for something to change from his current status and moving was one of those options.

“I thought Timo would be a good fit for us stylistically. He certainly has the attributes we look for. He can play all three positions [across the front line] which adds some real depth for us and quality in the front third.

“What happened in the past is not relevant. He’s at a good age, has national team aspirations, wants to play at the highest level and this club offers him that opportunity.”

Werner is joined in north London by fellow new recruit Dragusin.

“He’s a good fit for us from a football perspective,” Postecoglou said.

“He certainly has some great attributes as a young player and from my chats with him as a person he’s come in with the right motivations.

“We had some pretty clear objectives. If there’s an opportunity for us to get better, we’ll take it.”