Liverpool vs Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino calls for focus before title credentials tested at Anfield

Everyone at White Hart Lane knows they must be able to take advantage of any slip by Leicester City

There are just two things Tottenham Hotspur can do now as they chase the title: win and wait. The international break is over, and they are finally rid of all other priorities, leaving them to focus only on the simple but difficult task of their seven-game Premier League run-in.

Everyone at Tottenham knows that they must take 21 points – or 19 or possibly 18 – if they are to win their first title since 1961. Leicester City, even more of an underdog story than Spurs, are five points ahead of them and facing an easier run of games, if not in May then certainly in April.

It might be a daunting prospect, or certainly a disheartening one, for a team with no title-winning experience. Spurs have played the best football in the country for the last few months, but have had to watch powerless as Claudio Ranieri’s side grind out the 1-0 wins that have kept them at the top. Six more of those will take the title to Leicester, as will five wins and two draws.

Mauricio Pochettino’s job, then, is to make sure that if Leicester do any worse than that, his Spurs team will be able to take advantage. His team have to tell themselves that if they keep the pressure on Leicester, that the slip will eventually come. And that starts at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

“I think it is normal in our head to wait for Leicester to drop points, because we are competitive, ambitious and we want to win the title,” Pochettino said. “But we need to be focused not on that, we need to be focused on us. Because if they drop [points], and we don’t get the points, it is nothing.”

Saturday’s game, then, is a chance for Spurs to turn the focus back on Leicester, something that Pochettino is very keen to do. The last league weekend, Leicester won at Crystal Palace on the Saturday, forcing Spurs to beat Bournemouth on the Sunday. They produced their best performance of the season and won 3-0. This weekend Spurs can exert pressure in the opposite direction.

Harry Kane with his Tottenham team-mates (Getty)

“I don’t say if it’s fair or unfair,” said Pochettino, not wanting to get drawn into fixture-list grievance politics. “First we need to try to win our game, then wait with what happens with them. Now we are in a moment where we need to be focused on us. We have a tough game against Liverpool, and it is important to win the game. If we don’t win the game, it is impossible to wait for anything from the Leicester game. Our game is more important.”

While Spurs’ expansive football is getting better and better, Leicester are succeeding with their own minimalist game. They have won three straight games 1-0, and know that if they can just keep doing that for a few more weeks the title will be theirs. It has led to suggestions that the best team in the country is the one in second place, but Pochettino does not quite see it that way. “I am not frustrated because if you win the title, you deserve it,” he admitted. “You always need to work hard and if you achieve big things then it’s because you deserve that.”

But there is no point in pretending now that when Leicester take the field against Southampton on Saturday that Pochettino will not be cheering his former side on. “I try to watch every game,” he said, “not only Leicester, but yes.” He pointed out that the same thing would be true in reverse. “Leicester on Saturday, Ranieri and all the players will be in front of the TV with Liverpool shirts on. It’s good.”

Ultimately this title race will be decided by which side copes best with a situation they are entirely unfamiliar with. As such there is no reliable guide, although of course Leicester’s five point margin makes them strong favourites. Pochettino has spent all season pointing out how young his team is, but now they are where they are he points to their experience too.

“We are young, but we are mature enough to compete with different teams,” Pochettino said. “The balance is good as we are young but mature. There's a lot of examples of different teams that have won titles or trophies with a good balance. And we have that between the young and experienced players.” Of those experienced players, Jan Vertonghen will not quite be ready for Saturday, but he is making good progress 10 weeks on from his knee ligament injury.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino (Getty)

Pochettino knows that the eyes of the world will be on his team on Saturday, as they try to win a game that they have struggled with in the past. Tottenham have won just twice at Anfield in the Premier League era, in August 1993 and, more recently, in May 2011, when Harry Redknapp’s Spurs beat Kenny Dalglish’s side.

Spurs are a far better side now than they were then, but even under Pochettino their record in the big away games is mixed at best. They have lost twice at Old Trafford, drawn twice at the Emirates, and lost last season at Anfield and Stamford Bridge. That may have changed, though, with Spurs’ transformative Valentines Day win at Manchester City, probably the most important win of Pochettino’s tenure.

“It was good for us, because belief is the most important thing and it was a very good victory,” Pochettino said. “Now we are in a moment where we can believe we can win at Anfield. But then it is football, and we need to try to create the good things to win the game. The team and the players are very focussed on the next game. We just need to do our job.”