Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says no one outside of the club believed they could be title challengers this season.
Spurs moved up to second in the Premier League after a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday, four points behind leaders Liverpool, thanks to Son Heung-min‘s late goal.
They could drop back, however, if Manchester City beat Arsenal and the Reds win at West Ham on Monday.
But Tottenham’s position is still impressive against the back drop of a crippling injury list, uncertainty over their new stadium and two successive transfer windows without signing anyone.
If people on the outside did not have faith, then Pochettino, who is apparently joining Chelsea for ‘upwards of £50m in compensation’, did.
“It’s about now praising the squad, the players, to be in the position we are in the Premier League, no one believed at the beginning of the season that this squad was capable of being there,” he said, before naming the three things behind their form.
“Because of our belief, how hard we work, our mentality and everything, we are there.
“We don’t need to be in some position like today to convince ourselves about our capacity, our potential or possibility to win. We always believe in ourselves.
“We are there because we believe in ourselves. Then it’s if we are capable to fight until the end, to be close and fight until the end to go close to our opponent to be champions.
“Today, we are there because we deserve to be there. We will see what happens in the future.”