Chelsea point proves young Tottenham are ready to compete, claims Spurs midfielder

Moussa Dembele might easily have been wearing a Chelsea shirt on Sunday, but no move was agreed

MOUSSA DEMBELE believes that Tottenham’s young team have now become men – and are ready to compete with the elite of the Premier League.

 

Spurs ground out a goalless draw with struggling champions Chelsea at White Hart Lane yesterday, just over 48 hours after returning from a gruelling 6,000 mile round trip to Azerbaijan in the Europa League.

The fact that there was disappointment around N17 at having dropped two points against Jose Mourinho’s side showed how far Spurs have come under Mauricio Pochettino this season – even though they have now gone 13 games unbeaten in the league since the start of the season.

But midfielder Dembele said: “Everybody can see our mentality and the way we are playing are different now.

 

“We just feel we are now men. We are more confident and we are more of a group now. That is something we have worked for a long time on. We are really happy with how it’s going.

“We wanted to win the game. It was the moment to beat them. But this is still Chelsea we are talking about. You have to give them some respect.

“It was a game we could have won at the end. But they had chances as well so maybe a draw was a good result.

 

Harry Kane is one of a number of young players at Tottenham

“It shows how far we have come. That is a positive thing. Before maybe we might have been happy to draw with Chelsea, now we are disappointed. We know we could have beaten Chelsea.

“There is such a positive vibe in the group. It is very important now to continue that.”

The Belgian star said: “We are accomplished enough to say now we can win any game now - if we have the same mentality. Obviously we want to win the league,  but I don’t try to think that far ahead. The next game is the most important.”

 

Dembele, who had struggled to hold down a regular place place in Pochettino’s side last year but this season has been a revelation, has been linked with a move to Chelsea in January, but the 28-year-old insisted: “I never doubted I would stay. I never thought about leaving. Of course people will speculate when you are not playing.

“But I always felt this is my club and I want to prove myself. I am not the sort of player who runs away. I always show myself and I always felt I could do something here.”