‘Deciding factor’: Danny Murphy delivers brutal verdict on Spurs and Everton in the top-four race – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Former Liverpool midfielder turned popular football pundit, Danny Murphy, has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur won’t finish in the top-four this season.
Spurs returned to winning ways on Sunday after beating Burnley 4-0 in the Premier League.
They have now jumped to 8th in the league, six points behind fourth-placed West Ham.
Both Gareth Bale and Dele Alli have returned to form, with the former producing his best performance since joining the London club on loan in the summer from Real Madrid.
Back in December, Spurs were challenging for the title, but they have lost their way following a run of poor results.
Murphy has suggested that both Spurs and Arsenal “are exciting to watch” but “consistency will be the deciding factor”. He thinks that Spurs would struggle to maintain their winning momentum.
“For me, consistency will be the deciding factor. On their day, Tottenham or Arsenal are exciting to watch but I don’t think they will manage to string together the results they need to mount a challenge,” said Murphy to BBC Sport.
The BBC Pundit feels that Everton have an outside chance of getting into the top-four. However, he suggests that the likes of Leicester and Liverpool have got far more experience to handle pressure than Everton or West Ham.
He added: “Everton are capable of doing that, though, and West Ham have been doing it for a few weeks already. The Hammers are another side that are very difficult to break down, as City found out on their way to beating them.
“Even so, I think it will either be the Foxes or Liverpool who make fourth place. Both of them have got far more experience of these kind of situations, when the pressure is really on, than Everton or the Hammers do.”
Spurs have a tough run of games, with three London derbies being lined up, and a trip to Villa Park in their next four Premier League games.
Everton, on the other hand, have relatively easy fixtures (on paper), and the Toffees must look to pick up maximum points from their next few games.