TOTTENHAM BOSS ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS has demanded focus from his side after they claimed a precious 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
First-half goals from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon ensured the home side went into half-time ahead at White Hart Lane.
And despite Per Mertesacker scoring early in the second half, Tottenham held on to win and consolidate their place in the top four, moving seven points clear of their rivals.
Tottenham built a similar lead over their rivals last season before being overhauled and pipped to third place and Villas-Boas is using that scenario as a warning to anyone who may be getting complacent.
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“There’s still so much to go,” he told Sky Sports. “Last year by this time Arsenal made up the seven-point difference to Tottenham and we know how it finished at the end of the season.
“Obviously the motivations are different. We are extremely confident. They are on a low at the moment.
“For them to be able to jump back is going to be very difficult but they can do it against (Swansea) City. We just have to continue our job.”
The win at White Hart Lane means Tottenham jumped to third in the English Premier League, two points above London rivals Chelsea.
Villas-Boas said the win was important for the fans and for the battle for Champions League qualification, but says there is still plenty of football to be played.
“(The result is) very important for what it means but nothing is finished yet,” the 35-year-old said.
“We still have to fight hard. Arsenal now have to play Swansea City and we play Liverpool so it could be another big weekend for us.
“We’ll try to profit from another important fixture and keep doing our job. It’s important to get the most amount of points as we can to try and finish where we want to be.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger called on his team to ‘fight like mad’ for a place in the top four after their hopes of securing qualification for the Champions League took a blow.
“It’s very frustrating,” Wenger told Sky Sports. “But we have to put the energy in like we did today and keep going. You never know.
“It would be absolutely terrible not to continue to fight like mad because there were a lot of positives in the game.
“What happened today was repeated so many times in the big games. It’s difficult being 2-0 down – in any big game you have a big task.”
AVB demands focus from in-form Spurs side
TOTTENHAM BOSS ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS has demanded focus from his side after they claimed a precious 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
First-half goals from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon ensured the home side went into half-time ahead at White Hart Lane.
And despite Per Mertesacker scoring early in the second half, Tottenham held on to win and consolidate their place in the top four, moving seven points clear of their rivals.
Tottenham built a similar lead over their rivals last season before being overhauled and pipped to third place and Villas-Boas is using that scenario as a warning to anyone who may be getting complacent.
“There’s still so much to go,” he told Sky Sports. “Last year by this time Arsenal made up the seven-point difference to Tottenham and we know how it finished at the end of the season.
“For them to be able to jump back is going to be very difficult but they can do it against (Swansea) City. We just have to continue our job.”
The win at White Hart Lane means Tottenham jumped to third in the English Premier League, two points above London rivals Chelsea.
Villas-Boas said the win was important for the fans and for the battle for Champions League qualification, but says there is still plenty of football to be played.
“We still have to fight hard. Arsenal now have to play Swansea City and we play Liverpool so it could be another big weekend for us.
“We’ll try to profit from another important fixture and keep doing our job. It’s important to get the most amount of points as we can to try and finish where we want to be.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger called on his team to ‘fight like mad’ for a place in the top four after their hopes of securing qualification for the Champions League took a blow.
“It would be absolutely terrible not to continue to fight like mad because there were a lot of positives in the game.
“What happened today was repeated so many times in the big games. It’s difficult being 2-0 down – in any big game you have a big task.”
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Race for third Spurs Villas-Boas