Pochettino: Tottenham stars will deserve statues if they win Premier League

Mauricio Pochettino says his Tottenham players would deserve statues if they were to claim the Premier League title this season.

The door has been left ajar by Leicester City, who drew with West Ham on Sunday ahead of Spurs’ match against Stoke City on Monday.

A win for Pochettino’s men would close the gap at the top to five points with four games remaining and crank up the pressure on Claudio Ranieri’s unlikely leaders.

And while a title triumph still looks a long shot for his side, Pochettino said wining the crown would be the stuff of legend.

“If we won the championship, I think that every player would deserve a statue,” Pochettino said.

“The challenge is big because it is a big gap. But to keep fighting in the way that we have fought and in the end win the title, all the people would recognise our value. And we would be happy, too.”

Tottenham themselves were considered outsiders for a title challenge this season, but Pochettino acknowledged that most neutrals are still hoping for Leicester to prevail.

“I think it’s good. They deserve to [win],” Pochettino said.

“But I think we cannot fight against all that happens around Leicester.

“We need to fight against them and against us and our opponents and it’s a very good challenge.

“We know that all the people want Leicester to be champions, but we need to believe that we can change the story.”