Former players and Spurs legends say whether they believe this squad are made of championship-winning material

Cliff Jones

Former Wales international and left‑winger for the last Tottenham Hotspur side to win the league in 1961

I think they can keep going, although Harry Redknapp will be doing his best – and rightly so – to play things down. They won't want to get carried away but sometimes you can't help but get carried away.

Everything is in place. They have a squad which has come together, which is producing terrific performances all round the pitch. The manager has done a fantastic job given where the club was a couple of years ago and with his understanding of how Tottenham teams should play. Daniel Levy handled the Luka Modric situation very well and Modric himself is due credit for getting stuck in, instead of sulking about not getting a move.

When we won the league, it was much more open. The likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United and Liverpool would be challenging. There were plenty of good sides; now, Tottenham are facing two superpowers really in the Manchester clubs.

I have been at all the home matches this season and have seen the team grow. Everyone rightly talks about Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart – and these guys have been great. But I have been delighted to see the progress of Jake Livermore, a homegrown Tottenham kid from a Tottenham‑supporting family who is rapidly becoming one of Harry's top boys.

But they are playing with a great confidence. Luck comes into it because you need the squad to stay away from injuries but you look at the bench against Everton and Jermain Defoe is there; in that respect, they are not doing too bad for depth of talent.

Phil Beal

Won the Uefa Cup and two League Cups with Tottenham. Made more than 300 club appearances



Last season, and no disrespect to those clubs, Spurs were dropping points at home to Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers. If you want to be title contenders, you can't do that and that has been the big difference this year.

I think they have got a great chance of winning it. The table as it stands now tells you that. The signing of Scott Parker was so important, he plays with a determination that rubs off on the other players. They are playing with so much confidence, they really go out there with the belief that nobody is going to beat them. In the one game they have lost during this great run, at Stoke, they were very unlucky.

You have to look at the tough games coming up – away to Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – and think it will be a crucial period. But as a club, Spurs seem to raise their game, the better the opponents.

Pat Nevin

Former Everton and Chelsea winger. Won international caps with Scotland. Now a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live

I think so, but I would still regard them as outsiders of the three simply because of depth of squad. They have been fairly lucky, and Harry Redknapp has also done a great job in keeping them together, that they have been able to cope so far with the loss of players. Particularly, that is, at centre-back with Ledley King unable to play every game.

Their hope just now is justified because City are faltering a bit and have lost players to the Africa Cup of Nations, plus, of course, Vincent Kompany to suspension.

The main players they have are good enough but I think Manchester United have the advantage of course and distance specialism, added to Sir Alex Ferguson in charge who knows it all better than anyone else. City's squad is bigger and stronger than that of Spurs, which is why I group them in with United.

But I do think there will be a title run-in from five or six games out. I hold my hands up now and admit they have done far better already than I had anticipated they could.

If they make a smart signing or two this month, as they have done in the past and particularly with Scott Parker, Spurs might just still be in there fighting at that stage.

Gary Mabbutt

Won 16 England caps amd made nearly 500 appearances for Spurs where he won the FA Cup and Uefa Cup

I was at the Everton game on Wednesday night and, against a good side, Tottenham were able to dominate the game in terms of pace and tempo. They aren't in the position they are in just now through any stroke of luck, they deserve to be in there.

If you are going to win a league, you have to show the best levels of consistency and form; over the last couple of months, Spurs have been the most stable in that regard. On top of their game, they are a match for anybody. Another big difference now is that when they are below par, they still go out and pick up points; the Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland matches showed that.

Spurs have added extra pressure to the Manchester duo. Pressure is a funny thing, it is a matter of how they [Manchester City and Manchester United] react now. The additions of Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry maybe show that clubs see Tottenham as a bigger threat than they thought they were going to be.

I was with Spurs during pre-season in South Africa and the clear ambition at that point was to break into the top four. That hasn't changed. The blend of youth and experience, added to a great work ethic, has taken them further for now; remember they are competing with some of the best teams in the world, and doing so exceptionally well.

If the Manchester duo falter, Tottenham are nicely poised to take advantage of that. After Wolves at the weekend, five of Spurs' next six league games are against Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United. If they are in the same position after that, we can really start talking.

Steve Perryman

Made a Tottenham club record 854 appearances for Spurs and won Football Writers Player of the Year in 1982

I don't think they are ready to win the championship, that's just my opinion and what do I know, I never won one. But I think Manchester City just have too much quality.

It's nothing to do with mentality – in Harry Redknapp they have a manager who has the mentality to pull clubs out of relegation battles. Spurs are ready to go to the next step, I just don't think that step is winning a championship just yet.

What they have is a credible force to push whoever does win it. If you get more points than Tottenham, you will win the league in my opinion. They have made progress within a budget; there have been false dawns before but this has a solid base. Keeping Luka Modric away from Chelsea, for example, was a hell of a thing.

They have a very, very intelligent football manager and a good squad with depth. They also have backbone – in the past, good-looking Spurs teams would have a bad day and lose 3-0 away from home. That doesn't happen now.

Kevin Gallacher

Former Scotland winger and a part of the squad at Blackburn Rovers that won the Premier League in 1995

At the moment, yes they can win it because they are on song. But I have always tipped Manchester United to win the league; they haven't really played well at all this season but are still sitting second.

It's when it gets to Easter time that it becomes huge for Spurs. That is such an important time for football clubs, a time when managers come out with some mind games. At the moment, the mentality of the Spurs players will be no different to what we had at Blackburn; they are confident in their own ability and riding the crest of a wave.

But it is very tough for them; teams with 45 points at this stage will normally go on and win the league. Spurs have reached that and still find the Manchester teams in front of them.