Being the pessimist that I am, I’m still expecting something to go wrong somewhere! Obviously the big one looks to be on May 5th at the City of Manchester Stadium but I think Bolton at home in two Saturday’s time could be key. The best I can see us getting at Old Trafford this weekend is a draw, and even that is unlikely. Man City go to Arsenal for Saturday’s late kick off in a match where we need a favour from the Gunners. I know a number of their supporters would rather lose than help Spurs out, but Wenger will be seething after losing to both Tottenham and especially Wigan, and will expect a serious reaction from his players.

All credit to Harry Redknapp. While opposition supporters continue to knock our gaffer, their can be no denying his ability as a manager. We are now just a point away from our best ever Premier League total and it is no small coincidence that Redknapp achieved the same feat with both West Ham and Portsmouth. Maybe he owed Pompey one and maybe we were never destined to reach this year’s FA Cup Final. However, maybe we are destined to upset the Liverpool’s and Man City’s of the world instead.

If we are going to finally achieve reach the Holy Grail of Europe’s elite competition, I don’t think we will ever get a better opportunity than we have now. Man City are likely to be even better next season, improve year on year and keep spending year on year until they find success. I also can’t see Liverpool’s decline continuing beyond next season. This is our chance, the majority of our squad are ready for the next step and they way they have performed this week tell me they could cope with the top teams from around the globe.

The way we knocked the ball around and completely dominated Chelsea was a pleasure to watch. If we can take that new found confidence into the game against Manchester Utd, who knows what might happen.

I don’t think you can criticise Harry’s tactics or the Tottenham performance as a whole. We had 66% of the possession and 12 shots on target to Stokes 2 and did everything but score. On another day, we could have easily been 2 or 3 up by half time.

Stoke’s goalkeeper Steve Simonsen had the game of his life and when Lennon couldn’t continue, they took full advantage of their extra man. The extent of the injuries to Lennon and particularly Woodgate aren’t yet known. Lennon is likely nothing serious but seeing Woodgate have to come off during his first game of the season is bitterly disappointing.

It would have been nice to go into the Arsenal game with a few points cushion over them and off the back of another win but it wasn’t to be. I’m still looking forward to Saturday with eager anticipation and it promises to be a cracking game. Arsenal have looked great at times this season but they have also looked very beatable as yesterday’s match against West Ham demonstrated. Let’s go to the Emirates and get a result.

It wasn’t an impressive Tottenham performance as it was in our first two games of the season, but it was impressive if you are impressed by Spurs grinding out results, something we haven’t been able to do in seasons past. It’s also nice to see Aaron Lennon’s finishing improving. If he can just try and look up a little more before crossing and playing final balls he’d be priceless. He isn’t far off it now.

It will be interesting to see who starts against Doncaster in the Carling Cup 2nd Round match but you’d imagine most if not all the players that have been on the bench recently will be in the starting line up. It is a difficult one because I don’t think it’s a game you can take lightly but those players wanting to impress will likely make up for any lack of match sharpness.

I’m taking nothing for granted against Birmingham but it’s a game you’d expect us to win at home 9 times out of 10. Another victory would give us huge confidence going into the Man Utd game on the 12th September, followed by Chelsea away the following Sunday, the game that is obviously the bigger test. Ok, Utd will be no picnic but there is no reason to fear any team at the Lane these days. Going to the Bridge does get me a little scared!

The thought of Patrick Vieira makes me very sad. I thought Arsenal did the right thing cashing in on him in 2005. A Patrick Vieira with another 4 years and a number of injuries on the clock can’t be any good for Tottenham, surely?

Also making me sad currently is the fact Craig Bellamy looks to be well down the pecking order at Manchester City now Mark Hughes has brought in Carlos Tevez and looks likely to sign Emmanuel Adebayor in the next few days. Redknapp was desperate to sign Bellamy last season and apparently the deal only fell through because West Ham weren’t happy selling to Spurs.

In other transfer news, Mirko Vucinic would never sign for us. That works out quite well because for one thing he’s shit, and for another, I doubt we were ever interested in him.

Anyway, I thought it would be find to find out what one player you would like to see brought in at Tottenham? It doesn’t have to be someone we have been linked with in the press. Is there anyone in the Championship that looks worth taking a punt on? Maybe a hidden gem in the Bundesliga? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

West Ham are one nil down at home to Liverpool as I write, still have to go to Everton and their last game is at Upton Park against Middlesbrough. If Boro can still stay up at that point, it’s going to be a real tough match for the Hammers.

It might be a slim chance, but there is still a chance for Spurs to steal 7th spot. I’m confident of a win against Man City then anything can happen at Liverpool with their title challenge over.

Fulham may be in the driving seat this afternoon, but it’s not over yet…

West Brom’s 3-0 victory over Sunderland last weekend was arguably their best performance of the season and will give them a lot of going into the game at White Hart Lane. On paper, Spurs should have far too much for the Baggies but at this stage of the season strange things often happen.

Like West Ham and Newcastle, it’s a game I think Spurs will win but I don’t expect it to be over by half time or a comfortable 3 or 4 nil result. The difficulty West Brom face is their style of football. They play an attractive passing game and I believe that is likely to be their undoing at Tottenham. They aren’t going to come and sit back and I’m sure we will get a number of openings which will be taken advantage of.

I’d imagine the Spurs line up will be largely unchanged from the team that faced Man Utd. Hutton is pushing for a return and Huddlestone might also get a game after some good performances prior to being on the bench last week.

I can envisage plenty of goals and a 3-2 or something similar would not surprise me. It should be a lot more exciting than our recent home games although a 1-0 win every week would suit me fine!

They might have managed the great escape four years ago but the unfortunate thing for West Brom is that they are playing a Tottenham side who are becoming one of the toughest to beat at home in the league. A Spurs victory will take West Brom’s chances of staying up from slim to none and I think that’s going to be the case come a quarter to five on Saturday afternoon.

I have a lot of time for Newcastle, especially their fans but I really fear for their Premiership status this season. The arrival of their messiah Alan Shearer is a move borne out of desperation rather than planning.

Shearer is clever. He didn’t fancy the job in the middle of the season because he knew the side was full of average, lazy and injury prone players who would have needed a serious kick up the backside and possibly even some headlocks the likes of which we’d not seen since Keiron Dyer was part of the Toon. By taking the job at this late stage of the season, he has nothing to lose. Save Newcastle from relegation and he’s untouchable for life. If they do get relegated, he’s lost no face because he didn’t have time to do a proper job and can walk away before next season if things behind the scenes aren’t the way he wants them.

If I was a Newcastle fan I would have been very happy with Joe Kinnear and the job he did under difficult circumstances. I don’t believe that any other manager would have had the club in a better position with the resources he had at his disposal.

Supporting Spurs I can identify with some of the issues the Newcastle fans have faced over the last ten years or so, false dawns etc but having Bobby Robson at the helm and the first reign of Keegan must have been amazing.

Harry has a strong squad to pick from for Sunday’s encounter with Alan Hutton now fit, David Bentley staking a claim for first team action with two goals against Arsenal reserves and Wilson Palacios returning from his one game ban.

Like with West Ham last week, I just think the current Tottenham side will have too much for the Toon Army at White Hart Lane. I realise they will be playing out their skins for both Premiership survival and to avoid the wrath of Sir Alan but they just don’t have the quality to take all 3pts. Had the game been at St James’ Park I would have been worried but current form points to a comfortable Spurs victory.

I don’t want to dwell on this too much but Arsenal are in a position where they can still win a trophy this season so their player of the season could change if someone drives them to FA Cup or Champions league glory (unlikely I know), but our season is pretty much over other than the battle for 7th place and UEFA Cup football next season. Not that I can see much point in that battle because we probably won’t bother with that competition if we have an important league game away to Wolves or something similar on the agenda.

Here is a list of the leading contenders;

Ledley King – Ledley’s one of the main reasons we aren’t still in a relegation battle for me. His performance’s this season have been of the highest order and what sticks in my mind as pivotal to our season was his goal at West Ham when we were in desperate need of points.

Jamie O’Hara – You’ve got to love him for having a crack at Danielle Lloyd after her previous boyfriends if nothing else. He may be small but he has the heart of a lion. I hope he continues to improve and establishes himself as a key member of our squad in the coming years.

Aaron Lennon – I was ready to write him off at the start of the season, how wrong I was. He’s been magnificent for us in recent months and seems to have really blossomed under Harry Redknapp. The headless chicken has finally found a head and has the world at his feet.

Jonathan Woodgate – He’s proved to be worth every penny of his £7m transfer fee unlike some of the rubbish we have shelled out for in recent times. He’s our rock, seems to have put his injury nightmare behind him since arriving and has been an ever present force this season with 37 appearances thus far.

Verdan Corluka – Some people are still undecided but I am a massive fan of this guy. He works hard and has that touch of class some defenders lack. Other fans I’ve raved to about this guy argue he makes too many individual errors but I don’t believe that is the case. There is no one else I would want alongside King and Woody.

Luka Modric – The ugly little girl is our class act and I don’t even think we have seen the best of him. Had he got the winner against Arsenal at the Lane he’d without doubt be our player of the season, I’m sure he’s most Spurs fan’s choice in any case.

Who is your Tottenham player of the season?

The Hammers deserve a lot of credit for their performances this season and the arrival of Steve Clarke to work alongside Ganfranco Zola seems to have made all the difference.

Unfortunately for West Ham, they face a Tottenham side that are capable of beating anyone at the Lane on their day. Since Palacios and Robbie Keane have joined the squad, Spurs look like a different side. Admittedly, Palacios being suspended is a big miss but a fresh Zokora can prove a solid deputy.

The Hammers are hard to beat, only two defeats in eight games illustrate that, but if they are vulnerable it’s when they play away from Upton Park. They also don’t tend to score many goals away from home.

Although they sit 6 points in front, victory on Saturday would cut that advantage to 3 points and give us a realistic chance of nicking that 7th spot, and the chance of European football next season, from right under their noses.

Our last 2 home games have seen us take a poor Middlesbrough side apart by four goals to nil, followed by a 1-0 win over title challengers Chelsea. I can’t see any reason why West Ham should prove a bigger challenge than the Blues.

We turned the Hammers over 2-0 at Upton Park earlier in the season and I can envisage a similar result come the weekend.