EXCLUSIVE COLUMN

Eden Hazard may say Chelsea don’t want Tottenham to win the Premier League but they will try just as hard to stop Leicester on the final day of the season if it comes to it.

The race could all be over if Leicester win at Manchester United on Sunday but I fancy Louis van Gaal to get something out of that match which would keep it alive going into Monday’s game between the Blues and Spurs at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham have been a far better team this year but you can bet Chelsea will be bang up for it. Hazard has said as much. If I was his manager, I’d have preferred it if he hadn’t spoken publicly but you wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. You just tell him to go out on the pitch and prove it there.

Spurs have to keep believing they have a chance — and even if Leicester win, securing second place would be a real feather in their cap — but some people think Chelsea will ruin it for them by rolling over against Leicester if the title was still on the line. That’s rubbish.

English football has a great record for that — it has been proven over time. Liverpool didn’t want Manchester United to win the League in 1995 but were playing their only rivals, Blackburn, on the final day of the season.

Blackburn had Kenny Dalglish in charge — arguably one of Liverpool’s most loved sons — and given Liverpool had nothing to play for, most people at Anfield wanted King Kenny to succeed. And yet, they beat Blackburn.

My West Ham team were playing against United and there was nothing on it for us but we fought for our lives. I had to play three centre-backs because Fergie put three up front and they absolutely battered us. We were hanging on for grim life but they couldn’t get the winning goal.

I thought that it was a great day for English football because it shows our game is honest.

Dele Alli will be suspended against Chelsea after striking out at Claudio Yacob against West Brom. To be fair, every time you see Yacob, he is always kicking people. He is a nasty midfielder who goes out to upset people. He would have gone out on Monday with the intention of winding Dele Alli up. Dele isn’t a shrinking violet and I like the fact he can look after himself in a game but throwing punches is obviously taking it too far.

He needs that aggressive side in his game but he’s taken the bait with Yacob and he can’t do that. Dele is only a kid but he’s going to learn that he will get kicked every week because he is such an outstanding player. You have to try and take it as a compliment and rise above it like the very best do.

Mauricio Pochettino is well placed to tell Dele not to respond to the Yacobs of this world because he used to be one! He got sent off 13 times as a player at Espanyol — they tell me that is still a club record there. I love Mauricio — he’s a great lad — but he dished it out often enough and he’ll know only too well that Dele will only make himself more of a target by reacting so he just has to get on with it. I’m not saying he is in this bracket, obviously, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are kicked from pillar to post all the time and you very rarely see them react.

Whatever happens on Monday, Tottenham have had a great season. I see reports suggesting Mauricio could leave but why would he? I see them being a team challenging for the title in the next few years.

They have such a good group of players there now that there is no reason why they should fall away.

Everything is in place — the training ground is superb and the new stadium is being built.

United have got a massive rebuilding job to do. They are way short of being anywhere near their old level. If I was Mauricio, I wouldn’t think about going anywhere else.

The most impressive thing is that they don’t really need to add much in the transfer market. They have got quality in all positions. Mauricio might think they need cover for Harry Kane but they have four excellent full-backs, good options in midfield and one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.

Spurs are capable of pushing Leicester right to the wire if given the chance. Chelsea will, too.

I’VE NEVER COME ACROSS PLAYERS TAKING BANNED SUPPLEMENTS

I find it hard to believe football has a wider problem with drugs beyond a few isolated incidents.

A lot of footballers go out to nightclubs and it is always possible to fall in with the wrong crowd.

Some players might take supplements to try and improve their performance but the risks involved in either case are a big enough deterrent to most professionals.

Players are randomly tested after matches and in addition there are unannounced visits to training grounds on a regular basis. They were at Derby on Tuesday.

They turn up, tell you the four or five names they want to test and then wait until training is finished before taking them off into a room.

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is unlikely to play again this season after deciding not to contest his failed drug test and I’ve seen some people calling for the club to be punished in some way but I doubt very much they knew anything about it.

You can’t fine a whole club for the actions of one individual like this.

I’ve never come across players taking banned supplements or anything they shouldn’t have during my management career.

I really wouldn’t know what substances are on the banned list or not — that’s where you trust your medical department to guide everyone in the right direction.

Sakho’s learning a harsh lesson but football doesn’t have anything like the drug problems other sports have and we should be grateful for that.