Tottenham may have finished fourth last season, topped their Champions League group this week, and beaten table toppers Arsenal, but still no-one is taking them seriously as contenders to the Premier League throne.
Yet if they beat reigning champions Chelsea on Sunday, that will surely change.
Harry Redknapp's men will find themselves just a point behind the reigning trophy holders if they get all three points at White Hart Lane at the weekend, and going into the clash it's the home side who are the ones oozing confidence.
In recent months Spurs have been playing with a fluidity that last season was emanating from Stamford Bridge and look like London's most confident title contenders. And Redknapp agrees.
"Of course we've got a chance," he told reporters. "How can I sit here and say we can't when we've beaten Liverpool and won at Arsenal? If it's only Chelsea or United who can win it, why are we bothering? Chelsea, a month ago, looked absolute certainties but they're struggling to get results. They'll get stronger when they get some key players back, but so will we."
And it's the first time in two decades that Spurs fans have begun to believe that the league title can realistically come to White Hart Lane.
"I've said: 'Listen, there's no reason why we can't have a go'," Redknapp added. "I said last year we should target the top four. I'm not going to say we'll win the championship now, but we've got a chance. Arsenal and Manchester City have a chance, too. Chelsea and United are favorites, but nothing's impossible."
Yet if they beat reigning champions Chelsea on Sunday, that will surely change.
Harry Redknapp's men will find themselves just a point behind the reigning trophy holders if they get all three points at White Hart Lane at the weekend, and going into the clash it's the home side who are the ones oozing confidence.
In recent months Spurs have been playing with a fluidity that last season was emanating from Stamford Bridge and look like London's most confident title contenders. And Redknapp agrees.
"Of course we've got a chance," he told reporters. "How can I sit here and say we can't when we've beaten Liverpool and won at Arsenal? If it's only Chelsea or United who can win it, why are we bothering? Chelsea, a month ago, looked absolute certainties but they're struggling to get results. They'll get stronger when they get some key players back, but so will we."
And it's the first time in two decades that Spurs fans have begun to believe that the league title can realistically come to White Hart Lane.
"I've said: 'Listen, there's no reason why we can't have a go'," Redknapp added. "I said last year we should target the top four. I'm not going to say we'll win the championship now, but we've got a chance. Arsenal and Manchester City have a chance, too. Chelsea and United are favorites, but nothing's impossible."
 SPURS SLIPS | How & why
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A simpler equation could be that for both of those slip-ups they have been without talisman Rafael van der Vaart, who has been in impressive form since his £8 million switch from Real Madrid. While Redknapp has been able to call on plenty of bodies to fill in when the Dutchman has succumbed to injury, no-one has quite managed to take on the mantle of his game-winning performances. Except, perhaps Gareth Bale, but even he has had his off days this term.
But those have just been blips in an otherwise flawless season. Compare that to Chelsea who are in the middle of the mother of all slumps. The Blues haven't won away from home since a 2-1 win at Blackburn in October and have a squad decimated by injury and a crisis of confidence. Even with Michael Essien and John Terry back in the side this week, Carlo Ancelotti's side still crashed to a poor 1-0 defeat at Marseille.
And the form book would suggest another defeat on the road for the Blues on Sunday, posing serious questions for their title challenge. The only redeeming lifeline is that this clash comes just four days after Spurs' crazy 3-3 Champions League draw with Twente but with what's at stake, this may well be one game where Redknapp's men buck their trend. Their title hopes depend on it
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