For all Mauricio Pochettino’s fighting talk about remaining in the Premier League title chase, it was hard not to glimpse a white flag over White Hart Lane after Tottenham Hotspur’s lacklustre draw with West Brom on Monday.
Instead of piling pressure on leaders Leicester City, who are now seven points ahead with three games remaining, Spurs have now given their rivals firm sight of a title which would be secured by victory at Manchester United on Sunday.
Before this week, the focus has been on whether Claudio Ranieri’s side would blink in the spotlight. But while they dazzled with a 4-0 win over Swansea, one day later Spurs appeared blinded by the expectation of those who assumed they would win their next games with their customary panache.
Amid the hype over Leicester’s first title in their 132-year history, it is easy to forget that Spurs last finished on top in 1961, when the team was founded on the steely focus of Danny Blanchflower and uncompromising strength of Dave Mackay.
More than half a century on, the Tottenham side seeking to emulate them are much less experienced, with players like Dele Alli and Eric Dier in their first full season.
No one on the team has ever won an English title and on Monday their featherweight second-half display, played out in front of a rather funereal atmosphere, pointed to a lack of leadership in vital areas.
How they could have done with a Blanchflower, who was famed for ensuring that those around him always produced their best.
On Monday, Christian Eriksen struggled to assert his usual influence in midfield and was wayward in front of goal while Harry Kane cut an isolated figure.
Spurs’ frustration was encapsulated by Alli, who appeared to punch Claudio Yacob in a first-half incident captured by TV cameras.
Pochettino suggested Alli was being targeted by opponents. But Graeme Souness, a combative midfielder for Liverpool and Scotland, said the 20-year-old must mature quickly.
“It’s just petulance,” Souness said of the Yacob incident.
“He’s not going to hurt anyone but he’s got that in him. For him to become a top player he’s got to accept that lesser lights like Yacob will mess him around.”
And Spurs look like they will have to live with being second best to Leicester, whose many admirers include Pochettino.
“Leicester deserve to be in their position – it will be a fantastic season if in the end they win the title,” he said.
It will not get easier for Spurs, who next travel to Chelsea, where they have not won since 1990.
Results
The Championship: Hull City vs Brentford 2-0.
League One: Walsall vs Shrewsbury 2-1.
League Two: Wimbledon vs Portsmouth 0-1.
Scottish Championship: Hibernian vs Dumbarton 4-0; Livingston vs Rangers 1-0.