Mauricio Pochettino must ignore Tottenham’s proud cup tradition if his team are to have a chance of winning their first domestic title since 1961.

Tottenham face Leicester in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and take on Fiorentina in the last 32 of the Europa League next month.

At the start of the campaign, Spurs’ best chance of a trophy looked to be in the knockout competitions. Yet with all the title contenders showing weaknesses, Tottenham may feel they need to give priority to the Premier League over the next five months.

Tottenham are six points off top spot following the 1-1 draw at Everton yesterday and their supporters, who look back fondly at the club’s cup achievements, would not be thrilled to see knockout football take a back seat. Those who saw the Uefa Cup win in 1984, the FA Cup victory in 1991 and the Carling Cup triumph in 2008 believe this team can emulate those achievements. They would be disappointed if the best players were absent for these matches.

Yet this might be Tottenham’s best chance for many years of finishing top of the league. The richest clubs will strengthen in the summer and we might not see a season like this for a long time. Pochettino would kick himself if Spurs reached the spring in contention, only for their key men to be too tired to complete the job.

This is a talented squad, so Pochettino should use it. Harry Kane has not had a proper break since the summer of 2014 and will surely tire at some stage. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have been partners in central defence in all but five games this season. In his first season in the top flight, Dele Alli has quickly become one of Spurs’ most important players. Eric Dier is similarly valuable, even though he is playing regularly in the holding midfield role for the first time in his senior career.

Sooner or later, these players will need a break and the place to give them a breather is in the cups. Kieran Trippier is finding his feet at White Hart Lane and looks a solid deputy for Kyle Walker at right-back while if Pochettino trusted Kevin Wimmer enough to sign him last summer, he can surely rely on him to step in for fellow left-footer Vertonghen, or even Alderweireld, occasionally.

Player Ratings: Tottenham vs Everton 23 show all Player Ratings: Tottenham vs Everton 1/23 Tim Howard: 6 The American did not have many stops to make. Saved by his upright twice after getting nowhere near long range efforts from Kane and Davies. 2/23 Seamus Coleman: 6 Produced a superb last ditch challenge to deny Alli early on and contributed well in both thirds of the pitch. 3/23 John Stones: 6 Kept Kane relatively quiet. The opening of the January transfer window has clearly not affected his composure. 2015 Getty Images 4/23 Ramiro Funes Mori: 6 The central defender has found his feet in English football. Phil Jagielka will have his work cut out if he is to win his place back after injury. 5/23 Leighton Baines: 6 Looked short of minutes but displayed excellent awareness to pick Eriksen's pocket in the build up to Lennon's opener. 6/23 Ross Barkley: 5 Saw plenty of the ball but was unable to provide a cutting edge. After some impressive early season form, the youngster has slipped off the pace. Booked. 7/23 Gareth Barry: 5 Struggled to get to grips with Spurs' pace and movement, but passed well. Guilty of a nasty raking challenge on Eriksen. 2015 Getty Images 8/23 Tom Cleverley: 6 The midfielder made a superb sweeping cross field pass in the build up to opening goal but was not an influential influence for the most part. 2015 Getty Images 9/23 Aaron Lennon: 7 Came back to haunt his old side with a superb, clinical finish into the top corner. Such a moment would have been satisfying given his rather undignified exit at White Hart Lane.



Muhamed Besic:6



Unlucky to see his superb dipping volley saved by Lloris late on. 10/23 Romelu Lukaku: 7 Held the ball up well and claimed an assist courtesy of an inch perfect knock down for Lennon. Did not enjoy the freedom of thee pitch as he was tracked closely by countrymen Vertonghen and Alderweireld. 11/23 Arouna Kone: 5 Operated on the fringes of the action. Unable to make a significant contribution in attack and came up short defensively.



Gerard Deulofeu:6



A constant menace. May well have been rested with on eye on the League Cup semi-finals, which Spurs should be thankful for given the impact he made. 2015 Getty Images 12/23 Hugo Lloris: 6 Had little to do other than dig Lennon's strike out of the net but stayed alive until the end to produce a superb stop to deny Besic in the closing stages. 13/23 Kyle Walker: 6 Threatened going forward but occasionally left his defensive colleagues in the lurch. 2015 Getty Images 14/23 Toby Alderweireld: 7 Produced a superb pass for Alli's goal and provided an assured presence throughout. A class act. 2015 Getty Images 15/23 Jan Vertonghen: 6 Guilty of letting Lukaku go for the goal but also made a couple of important challenges to deny his countryman late on. 16/23 Ben Davies: 7 Rattled the bar with a thunderous strike from long range and produced several impressive passes. Arguably his best display of the season. 17/23 Eric Dier: 6 Not the midfielder's best performance. Conceded possession in key areas and looked tired late on. 18/23 Tom Carroll: 6 Passed confidently. May not be a fans' favourite and proved his inclusion was deserved but still needs to be more adventurous. Booked. 19/23 Erik Lamela: 5 Conceded too many fouls tracking back. Could not be accused of lack of effort but made little impact in the final third.Booked. 2016 Getty Images 20/23 Dele Alli: 7 Full of purpose, the midfielder plays with such swagger and took his goal brilliantly. Withdrawn for Nacer Chadli late on and looked exhausted. 2016 Getty Images 21/23 Christian Eriksen: 5 Has looked jaded in recent weeks and was unable to provide a cutting edge. Unsurprisingly subbed with a little over 20 minutes remaining. 2015 Getty Images 22/23 Harry Kane: 6 Smashed an effort off the post in the first half and had few others sights of goal but ran and ran for the team, as per usual. 2015 Getty Images 23/23 Heung-min Son: 6 Unable to make a similar impact to the one he did at Watford but a good option to call upon nonetheless. 1/23 Tim Howard: 6 The American did not have many stops to make. Saved by his upright twice after getting nowhere near long range efforts from Kane and Davies. 2/23 Seamus Coleman: 6 Produced a superb last ditch challenge to deny Alli early on and contributed well in both thirds of the pitch. 3/23 John Stones: 6 Kept Kane relatively quiet. The opening of the January transfer window has clearly not affected his composure. 2015 Getty Images 4/23 Ramiro Funes Mori: 6 The central defender has found his feet in English football. Phil Jagielka will have his work cut out if he is to win his place back after injury. 5/23 Leighton Baines: 6 Looked short of minutes but displayed excellent awareness to pick Eriksen's pocket in the build up to Lennon's opener. 6/23 Ross Barkley: 5 Saw plenty of the ball but was unable to provide a cutting edge. After some impressive early season form, the youngster has slipped off the pace. Booked. 7/23 Gareth Barry: 5 Struggled to get to grips with Spurs' pace and movement, but passed well. Guilty of a nasty raking challenge on Eriksen. 2015 Getty Images 8/23 Tom Cleverley: 6 The midfielder made a superb sweeping cross field pass in the build up to opening goal but was not an influential influence for the most part. 2015 Getty Images 9/23 Aaron Lennon: 7 Came back to haunt his old side with a superb, clinical finish into the top corner. Such a moment would have been satisfying given his rather undignified exit at White Hart Lane.



Muhamed Besic:6



Unlucky to see his superb dipping volley saved by Lloris late on. 10/23 Romelu Lukaku: 7 Held the ball up well and claimed an assist courtesy of an inch perfect knock down for Lennon. Did not enjoy the freedom of thee pitch as he was tracked closely by countrymen Vertonghen and Alderweireld. 11/23 Arouna Kone: 5 Operated on the fringes of the action. Unable to make a significant contribution in attack and came up short defensively.



Gerard Deulofeu:6



A constant menace. May well have been rested with on eye on the League Cup semi-finals, which Spurs should be thankful for given the impact he made. 2015 Getty Images 12/23 Hugo Lloris: 6 Had little to do other than dig Lennon's strike out of the net but stayed alive until the end to produce a superb stop to deny Besic in the closing stages. 13/23 Kyle Walker: 6 Threatened going forward but occasionally left his defensive colleagues in the lurch. 2015 Getty Images 14/23 Toby Alderweireld: 7 Produced a superb pass for Alli's goal and provided an assured presence throughout. A class act. 2015 Getty Images 15/23 Jan Vertonghen: 6 Guilty of letting Lukaku go for the goal but also made a couple of important challenges to deny his countryman late on. 16/23 Ben Davies: 7 Rattled the bar with a thunderous strike from long range and produced several impressive passes. Arguably his best display of the season. 17/23 Eric Dier: 6 Not the midfielder's best performance. Conceded possession in key areas and looked tired late on. 18/23 Tom Carroll: 6 Passed confidently. May not be a fans' favourite and proved his inclusion was deserved but still needs to be more adventurous. Booked. 19/23 Erik Lamela: 5 Conceded too many fouls tracking back. Could not be accused of lack of effort but made little impact in the final third.Booked. 2016 Getty Images 20/23 Dele Alli: 7 Full of purpose, the midfielder plays with such swagger and took his goal brilliantly. Withdrawn for Nacer Chadli late on and looked exhausted. 2016 Getty Images 21/23 Christian Eriksen: 5 Has looked jaded in recent weeks and was unable to provide a cutting edge. Unsurprisingly subbed with a little over 20 minutes remaining. 2015 Getty Images 22/23 Harry Kane: 6 Smashed an effort off the post in the first half and had few others sights of goal but ran and ran for the team, as per usual. 2015 Getty Images 23/23 Heung-min Son: 6 Unable to make a similar impact to the one he did at Watford but a good option to call upon nonetheless.

Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb were excellent last season and should be able to ensure Dier and Alli are not missed too greatly in midfield.

Pochettino also says publicly that Heung-min Son and Nacer Chadli are equipped to replace Kane in the central striking role. With the FA Cup around the corner, and Europe back on the agenda next, it is time to put his money where his mouth is.