Tottenham Hotspur have lost six Premier League games in 2018-19, but they are just five points behind joint-leaders Manchester City and Liverpool, and it’s safe to say that the north London side are still very much in the title race despite not being huge favourites.

It’s a sentiment Newcastle legend Alan Shearer also shares, and he believes Spurs have an advantage over the top two given that not many talk about them.

“While everyone is talking about the top two, few people are talking about Spurs, and that will suit them perfectly. They’ve won their last three games in difficult circumstances, missing big players in recent weeks, Kane, Son, Alli, and when you can grind out results when things aren’t going your way, that’s an impressive sign,” Shearer told Coral.

“They didn’t play that well against Newcastle at the weekend, but they changed the system, brought Llorente on, went more direct, and yes it was a mistake from the Newcastle ‘keeper, but Spurs still found a way of winning, and that’s what matters. When Spurs lost to Wolves at Wembley over Christmas, I did think that was their title chance gone, as you just can’t lose that many games and still be in the hunt.

“But absolute credit to them, they have put a winning run together since then, and with City and Liverpool dropping points, we are now looking at a three horse race for the title.”  

Despite what appears to be a lack of quality squad depth as a result of their inactivity in the transfer market over the last two windows, Spurs have managed to overcome every challenge thrown at them since August, and ruling them out of the title race won’t be a logical thing to do.

With 13 games still left to play, Mauricio Pochettino’s side need to be in top gear for the remainder of the campaign to have a chance of pipping City and Liverpool to the title.

Alongside the two challengers, Tottenham will also face Chelsea and Arsenal as the title run-in nears, and how they fare in those four games which appear to be their toughest fixtures on paper could decide their fate.