The euphoria experienced in the immediate aftermath of Harry Kane passing his rebounded penalty kick into the Spammers empty net had largely subsided by the time I was out on the High Road. Yes, we stuck it to the West Ham fans who thought it had ‘happened again’, and yes we had got a point despite being two down – but we were abysmal for large parts of the game and this was a tired performance of a team with too many players playing at fifty percent of what they are capable of. Credit to Allardyce’s high pressing smash and grab tactics, but we went missing for seventy minutes in the middle and were a bit lucky to get a point. Spurs desperately needed three points to build momentum and deflect the emphasis away from the next two games but it didn’t happen.To finish in the top four was very ambitious this season; this was a result that woke us up from that particular dream only to find we weren’t sailing the good ship Hotspur in to Platini’s Cash Harbour, but instead next to a smirking Teddy Sheringham, lipstick smudged all over his face with his nylon wig slipping off at a rakish angle. Waking nightmare.

It started well with Benatleb seriously testing Adrian from range and Spurs looked the better team for the first ten minutes. After that West Ham contained us well without looking particularly threatening. Then the Lilywhite Self-Destruct button got tapped. The first goal was shambolic, Demebele guilty of an inexplicably short pass to Walker and West Ham jumped on the chance to go in front like Sam Allardyce on an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. West Ham were dominant until we scored our first, after that there was a palpable change in the atmosphere in the ground…we don’t have a reputation for scoring late goals for nothing. Tottenham fans now believe we can score any time between the eighty-eight minute and the final whistle, we just wish we didn’t have to. The departure of Noble and the arrival of Eriksen signalled a shift in the game, although if we are honest it was West Ham that missed Noble’s tenacity more than Spurs were inspired by the Dane this time around. The Tottenham Late Show, ably dual-hosted by Messrs Eriksen and Kane for most of the season, continues apace. Kane to the rescue this time but if you had said it would be Eriksen to score late on, most would’ve believed you. Kane’s penalty was shit but he snaffled the ball after Adrian’s parry and thirty three thousand pairs of arse cheeks unclenched simultaneously. Shove that up your Irons, you hissing scum suckers. Cue unbelievable scenes of relief, rather than jubilation, from the home fans and a shocked, gutted and muted away support having their hubris unceremoniously torn from them and strewn around the Lane like environmentally friendly confetti. To papery dust from whence it came. Unlucky.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh (on Spurs). We had all the possession and twice as many attempts on goal as the visitors, Valencia was off side for their second goal and Noble should have received a second booking for going through the back of Bentaleb. Lady Luck was firmly flirting with West Ham, leaving Spurs acting the coy wallflower with so much potential but no confidence to push herself forward. This lack of purpose has characterised the team in between the glorious victories over Chelsea and Arsenal and beyond. It’s a distractedness (one eye on the key away game in Florence and the Cup final) coupled with a weariness (Eriksen, Mason et alia running marathons twice a week): it’s a double-pronged conundrum that could take more than a last minute goal or two in the upcoming games.

I think we could be in trouble at the end of this week. Away at Fiorentina is going to be nails and the Cup final comes about a week too soon after that. Don’t worry though, we’ve got QPR three days after the CF so there’s plenty of time to rest. Mourinho may not like referee’s much but I bet he’s taking the FA fixture secretary out for a fish supper on Saturday night. Pochettino, on the other hand, probably didn’t want to rest Eriksen or Chadli for the West Ham game but it highlights the paper thin make-up of our squad when we have to play so many games in such a short space of time. Kane is the only forward he can really trust and the likes of Dembele, Lamela, Paulinho and Townsend are just not good enough or consistent enough to provide cover for the likes of Bentaleb,Chadli, Eriksen and Mason.

I hope I’m wrong but I think we are in for a torrid, torrid week. This wouldn’t be so much ‘Spursy’ as a simple reflection of where the squad is. We can beat Chelsea and Arsenal on our day but we haven’t got the depth to fight on three or four fronts… only Chelsea and Man City have got the cash monies to attempt that and they are so rich they don’t even care to do it. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we handed QPR a relegation lifeline next Wednesday either; I’m not known for my pessimism regarding Spurs but this is more than pre-cup final nerves talking. The pressure is building and I fear we don’t have enough players with broad enough shoulders, the few have carried the flotsam and jetsam since November and now even the brave Band of Brothers are starting to look a bit ragged. Not to say that this side isn’t capable of an exceptional game here and there, I just don’t think we have the depth to kick on.

As for the next two games, I think one win in two would be a great return. And I’ve got a ticket for the final at Wembley so I know which one I’d prefer. Although, Harry Kane says ‘never give up’, and if Kane and the rest of them believe that enough, maybe even the most cynical of us should dare to believe.