With another thrilling – or terrifying – weekend ahead depending on which team you are unfortunate enough to support, West Ham and Spurs appear the two clubs most threatened with heading for the championship at the end of May.
Leeds and Nottingham Forest, whilst not totally safe, have a cushion of four and three points respectively over the Hammers in 17th, giving themselves a little ‘wiggle room’ which will work wonders on their own supporters jagged nerve endings and finger nails.
Tottenham sit two points below West Ham, meaning the Irons ‘simply’ have to mirror Spurs’ performances for the remainder of the season to stay in the Premier League.
Tottenham’s form, unlike that of West Ham, has been dreadful since January. One win – against bottom side Wolves – by a single, late goal is hardly a ‘turnaround’: Especially with a trip to Villa Park in the offing on Sunday, its a little early for north London supporters to start hanging up the blue and white bunting.
So for former Chelsea winger turned BBC pundit Pat Nevin to claim that Tottenham now have a ‘survival mindset’ ahead of their last four encounters does seem, well, a little bizarre.
Reported by insidefutbol.com, their article suggests:
“Tottenham Have ‘Finally Woken Up’ Believes Former Top Flight Star
….it is only now that Spurs have finally woken up and smelled the very bitter coffee….
Tottenham Hotspur have now been drawn into the same survival mindset as Nottingham Forest and West Ham United in the relegation battle.”
That claim is made on the back of one solitary win in 2026. If I may be so bold I’d suggest it may be a little premature to suggest the Spuds have a ‘survival mindset’ simply because they overcame the already-relegated Wolves by a solitary goal.
Let’s see how the perform against Unai Emery’s Champions League chasing Aston Villa on Sunday before we start getting too worried about Tottenham’s magical transformation onto Premier League survivors.
Anyone who watched their efforts to break down Wolves would sense there is still a mountain to climb – especially as Dominic Solanke and Xabi Simons are now ruled out for the rest of this season.