Hoddle: Spurs are contenders

Glenn Hoddle believes Tottenham are strong contenders for the English Premier League title after their strong start to the season.

Spurs are in third place in the table, and are only two points behind second-placed Manchester United, with a game in hand over the champions.

Hoddle, a former manager of both Spurs and England, believes his former side have what it takes to be successful in 2011/12.

“I’ve been saying for the last two seasons that Spurs have as strong a squad as anyone except now Manchester City,” Hoddle said.

“They’ve got depth that matches Arsenal, Chelsea and maybe even Man United. The fact they kept Modric, built on the side they had, and now have the likes of Defoe who can come off the bench and make an impact, that’s a wonderful asset to have.”

Hoddle feels there will be five or six clubs battling for the Premier League title this season, and is confident Tottenham will be up among the challengers come May.

“I genuinely feel this year there are up to six teams that will be battling it out – this will be the most exciting Premier League for some time,” he said.

“It may well be that with six games to go there are three or four in contention for the title and Spurs can be one of those.”

“If Ledley King can stay fit and (Michael) Dawson can get back quickly from his injury, that would be a huge boost.”

“They’ve also got some good youngsters including Kyle Walker, there’s Gareth Bale coming back into form and (Emmanuel) Adebayor putting the ball in the net. It’s a lovely balance. They’ll be in the mix.”