MOUSA DEMBELE thinks Tottenham have shed their fear factor thanks to their brilliant Belgian brigade.
The midfielder, one of four Belgium internationals in the White Hart Lane squad, has played a key part of Spurs' resurgence this season
They remain on the coat-tails of the top four, unbeaten in the Premier League since an opening-day defeat at Manchester United.
These are heady times for him and his countrymen Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Nacer Chadli, with Belgium ranked No1 in the FIFA world rankings.
And Dembele can see parallels between the Belgium and Spurs teams.
"We know we have a good national team, with lots of good players," said the 28-year-old.
"We have confidence in our team, the same as we have at Tottenham.
"The atmosphere at Tottenham is like, 'Okay, we aren't scared of anyone.' And we have the same feeling with the national team.
"Everywhere we go at Tottenham, we have a good feeling. It wasn't like this before. It was the same with the national team, so it's nice to be around these kinds of positive vibes."
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| There are four Belgian internationals in the Tottenham squad, who bring some swagger |
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| Reid was the subject of top-level transfer speculation over the summer, but stayed at Upton Park |
There has been speculation Dembele, a £15million buy from Fulham three years ago, could leave in the January transfer window. but he insisted: "It has never been in my mind to leave. I'm very happy here."
This afternoon's visitors West Ham are also in high spirits after a positive start to the season and defender Winston Reid says their goal is to become a bigger club than Spurs.
Tottenham have finished above their London rivals in 17 Premier League seasons out of 23 but both clubs go into today's game on 21 points. And asked if the Hammers could one day overtake Spurs, Reid replied: "Well, that is what the club's ambition is.
"It's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard work - we all know that - but we are here to work hard and to try to achieve our ambitions."
Last season, West Ham were on the verge of a third successive victory on Tottenham territory only to blow a 2-0 lead, with Harry Kane scoring an equalising penalty in the 96th minute. Lessons, Reid says, have been learned since that day.
Since the arrival of manager Slaven Bilic in the summer, West Ham have amazingly won at the Emirates, Anfield and the Etihad.
Reid believes this is partly because of the increased tempo in training under the Croatian, something the players have duly responded to.
"From day one, the manager and the team behind him have brought confidence to the dressing room," Reid said. "We can all have bad games but he demands 100 per cent effort every single time."
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| Dembele claims this Tottenham side are fearless |
West Ham's excellent start vindicates Reid's decision to sign a six-and-a-half-year contract in March.
But any suggestions of the east Londoners challenging the top four this campaign were shot down by the 27-year-old New Zealander.
"It's still early days," he warned. "We had a good start last season and then a horrible second part, so let's see where we stand come February.
"I feel comfortable here and I'm generally enjoying my football. We have to develop as a club.
"Everyone wants to progress. I wouldn't stay here if I felt that we were going to decline."
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