Mauricio Pochettino refuses to rule out title after Tottenham's dramatic win at Swansea
Thursday 6 April 2017 00:10, UK
Mauricio Pochettino refused to rule out Tottenham's title chances after their dramatic victory at Swansea kept them on Chelsea's coattails.
Spurs were two minutes plus stoppage-time away from falling 10 points adrift of the Premier League pacesetters following Wayne Routledge's strike at the Liberty Stadium.
But three goals in the final nine minutes from Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen completed a stunning turnaround.
Asked after if the victory could spark a late title charge, Pochettino told Sky Sports: "This is another step forward. The three points are keep to keep us pushing.
"The result showed the team believe and that the group - players and staff - are a very tight team and we believe and fight for our club.
"Belief, faith and work-rate are the most important things in football. We showed one more time that we play in a very good level.
"It was difficult to break down Swansea but with that belief you can always win in the way we did today."
Spurs' sixth consecutive victory in all competitions - their fifth in the league - leaves them in second in the Premier League, seven points adrift of Chelsea.
Pochettino admitted Swansea's battling display led him to question Spurs' ability to get a result, but a combination of character on the pitch and decisions on the touchline finally broke their resolve.
"It was hard, it was a difficult game," he added. "We knew they were playing to survive and it would be a tough.
"We started the game well but then we conceded, then we realised we had to increase our level and push a little bit more.
"But if we analyse I feel we fully deserved the victory. Our players always believe, never gave up and showed character on the pitch and that is a big price for the team and we feel very proud of that.
"Sometimes I thought we couldn't win but from the touchline you have to show belief and try to help the team.
"We tried to change the formation to give the team the tools they needed to score and in the end we were rewarded."
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