Wednesday 30 January 2019 23:31, UK
Mauricio Pochettino remained coy about Tottenham's title hopes after their victory over Watford at Wembley lifted them to seven points off the top.
That late victory, coupled with a draw between Liverpool and Leicester at Anfield and Manchester City's defeat at Newcastle on Tuesday night, ensured a positive end to a difficult week for Pochettino's side, who have dropped out of both domestic cup competitions in the last seven days.
Asked about Tottenham's title credentials, he told Sky Sports: "There are still a lot of games to play, no-one expected yesterday Liverpool would draw and Manchester City would lose, but that's football. We need to keep pushing, working hard, and trying to win games and see what happens."
Those defeats in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and the fourth round of the FA Cup had put a sudden but significant dampener on Tottenham's season, and dented their search for a first piece of silverware in 11 years.
However, Pochettino was full of praise for his players after their late comeback against a spirited Watford side in front of a Wembley crowd of less than 30,000.
He said: "It was a tough 90 minutes. The goals arrived in the end because we kept pushing, working hard to change the result and then we can smile.
"It was fully deserved, the players worked very hard but they are doing an unbelievable effort for this team and club and I want to congratulate them once more.
"It's easy when you win, win, win to motivate to keep pushing and you don't need to do too much, but when things are not good you need to be tough, be strong in your mentality and your principles and keep believing in the way that you play and you believe you can turn things around.
"The feeling was difficult during the week because of many negative things, but it has changed and we need to keep the balance. We won the game, we are in a good position in the Premier League but we are still disappointed with the last week."
