Tuesday 18 April 2017 13:09, UK
Tony Gale insists Tottenham are right back in the hunt for the Premier League title after Chelsea's loss on Sunday, claiming there are lots of psychological twists and turns to come.
A 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford for Antonio Conte's men, coupled with Tottenham's 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, cut the Blues' lead at the top of the table to four points.
With the two clubs set to meet in an FA Cup semi-final tie at Wembley on Saturday, Gale admitted on Premier League Daily that the race is far from done.
"On paper Chelsea have the easier job but Spurs have the momentum and form and everything going for them," Gale said. "It's just a matter of ticking them off one at a time for both clubs, concentrate on the next fixture.
"With the semi-final coming up this weekend as well, I think that may have a little bit of an impact on it.
"If Spurs can get a good result over Chelsea and give them a good turning over, it may, psychologically, do that extra little bit that tips the scales their way.
"It's amazing what goes on in a run-in because there will be many a twist and turn and Spurs are well in it now and that's good for the Premier League."
Former defender Gale won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995, while he was also involved in a title race during his time at West Ham.
The 57-year-old revealed that he would prefer being in a team leading the table, but reiterated that Chelsea could crumble.
"I'd rather be leading the pack than chasing because you've got the points in the bag. That's it," Gale added. "I've been in the title race twice, once with Blackburn, once with West Ham.
"At Blackburn we were at the top and being shot at, at West Ham we were always chasing. It was better being up the top I can assure you, and Chelsea would far rather be in this position than they would be in Spurs' position.
"But the psyche of it all is so interesting, with the fixtures coming up, the difficulty of fixtures, the stats, players not performing, Spurs looking a bit fitter than Chelsea at the moment which is astounding really as Chelsea haven't had Europe to play in this season, so it's all coming together now isn't it?
"And it just shows you that football is not only about the skill and the fitness, a lot of it is always the mentality, getting between the ears of these players. It's a great psychological game as well."
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs ultimately finished in third last season but contested for the league title with Leicester for the majority of the campaign, something Gale added could help their cause this time around.
"Being in a chase before definitely helps," he said. "Everybody talks about experience and it's the experience of having been in that chase for Spurs and knowing what they didn't do right rather than what they did right.
"When you get on a role with that momentum...this time last season Spurs got on a bit of a downward spiral with results, and we'll never forget the Chelsea game [last season] where they just completely lost their heads. They went absolutely bonkers didn't they? Kicking Chelsea players left, right and centre. It all came a cropper.
"Now it's come full circle and they could be doing it to Chelsea."
