Stoke vs Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino says each Spurs player deserves a statue if they win the league

Spurs can reduce gap on Leicester to five points with win at the Britannia Stadium

Mauricio Pochettino embraces Harry Kane during Tottenham's 3-0 win over Manchester United (Getty)

Mauricio Pochettino says statues should be made of his Tottenham players if they defy the odds to win the Premier League title.

For that to happen then Spurs must surely win at Stoke City tonight to eat into Leicester City's sizeable advantage at the top of the table.

Leicester's mayor is planning to rename streets to mark the Foxes' remarkable transformation from 5,000-1 no hopers to champions.

But should Vardy Vale or Drinkwater Drive no longer be required then Pochettino believes Tottenham's own unlikely heroes, the only side with a realistic chance of overtaking, should be immortalised in stone.

“If we won the championship, I think that every player would deserve a statue," he said.

“The challenge is big but to keep fighting in the way that we have fought and in the end win the title, all the people would recognise our value. And we would be happy, too.”

Not since 1961 have Tottenham won the title and they haven't even finished above north London neighbours Arsenal since 1965.

A club that is in the process of building a new stadium - plenty of space for statues therefore - would celebrate joyously of course but Pochettino knows the verdict elsewhere would be different: they would be castigated for spoiling Leicester's fairytale ending, the footballing equivalent of the man who shot Bambi, no less.

"Bambi!" laughed Pochettino at the suggestion. "Come on! We cannot fight against all that happens around Leicester.

“We need to fight against them, and against our opponents and it’s a very good challenge.

“We know that all the people want Leicester to be champions but we need to believe that we can change the story.

I am a very positive person. In my life, I always believe that things can happen, good things for us.

Erik Lamela celebrates his goal against Manchester United(Getty) (2016 Getty Images)

“I never wish for bad things on Leicester but I want them to drop points in the next few games, and we win, and reduce the distance to them and try to win.

“You never know. In football, anything can happen. One thing can change things.

“We are in love with football because it is not predictable, and now we need to believe that something can happen for us.”

No Pochettino side has yet to taste victory against Stoke but that had been the case last weekend and Manchester United were beaten 3-0.

"No, I haven't, not with Southampton or Tottenham," he said. "But like Manchester United. We hadn't beaten them at home for 15 years and we did it on Sunday. Maybe I change the history against Stoke."

That wouldn't quite be worth a statue in itself of course but will keep the nation's stonemasons still hopeful of a May commission.