Premiership, you're 'aving a larf...
Must-win games, that tag, it gets bandied around quite a bit. Every game should be must-win. Especially in the Premier League. What with Champions League football being a real possibility if we once more dig deep enough to find the desire and belief to (re)claim it.
You might argue, the fact we are in it (CL), makes it the priority to the players. What's the point of qualifying for Europe's elite competition if you're not going to give it a right proper go? And I agree. Be fearless, enjoy the moment. It's deserved. For both players and fans.
We should aim to do our very best. But not at the expense of failing to challenge for the same privilege next season. Mental strength Spurs. We need more of it.
And this is the crux of the issue at hand. The goal has to be to aim for the next impossible level. As far away as challenging for the title is for us, much like challenging for 4th once was, we have to look at doing it regardless. Let me rephrase that. We should be looking to improve on what we achieved last season, which would make that a further step forwards, in the right direction. Nowhere near a title challenge, but it's in that direction. Over there, over the hills and then some.
This has been discussed many times before, but it's worth re-visiting. For me, it's about intent. Do we simply want an adventure not knowing when we might be next using our backpack or do we want to buy ourselves a plot of land on the continent and guarantee our ticket every year?
The players, for all their hard work last season, have to forget about the 'Race for Fourth' 2010 edition. Stop living off that single achievement (as majestic as it was in terms of proving so many doubters wrong) and re-tune their ambition to 2011 with a massive dollop of desire and renewed focus. Simply aiming for that next level will allow us to once more compete for 4th spot (based on the intensity we displayed last time out) - and that's as much as we can do in our immediate future.
Don't give our competition (City, Liverpool perhaps) the chance to believe in themselves more thanks to any display of disbelief from us.
Complacency? Loss of hunger domestically? We'll suffer for it. If we lost out on 4th, if that happened even if we gave it our all, then fair enough. We might be in for a few seasons of sharing it with one or two others. But not being in the fight full stop, and surrendering it? Well, that would be inexcusable.
We were meant to thrash Wigan. We didn't. That came off the back of beating Young Boys 4-0. And now after that corker of a game in Germany, we're back to the bread and butter once more. King has already cited 'no excuses'. There's no need for any of my usual war cry speeches and screams for swaggering swashbuckling football.
White Hart Lane. Three points. Make it convincing. I don't want to be listening to Harry post-match, sound-biting 'two wins from eight games'.
Show us your balls please Tottenham. I want them slapping around in the face of the toothless Wolves.
COYFS. Audere est Facere, old skool.
Listen to Spurs VS Wolves this Saturday 18th September only on Absolute Radio extra - on DAB Digital Radio, 1215AM and online in the UK from 1.30pm.
For more info go to www.absoluteradio.co.uk.
