Players from Premier League title-chasers Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur dominated the Professional Football Association’s (PFA) team of the year announced yesterday.
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Spurs are chasing Leicester at the top of the Premier League table and sit five points behind the Foxes with four games left to play.
Spurs cranked up the pressure with a resounding 4-0 win at Stoke City on Monday night, while their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has resorted to mind games by insisting the suspension of Jamie Vardy will have a “big impact” on the leaders.
Reflecting on his penalty last week, he added: “I didn’t think about how important it was, but after the goal I started to feel it”.
The Swans fell apart against Newcastle just a week after one of the most complete performances of their season against Chelsea.
“Then it was Europa League, OK, then Champions League, so now is the time to say ‘keep going'”.
“I don’t complain, it’s not an excuse if we don’t win the league”. I believe if we win a match people go back home happy to their family. Always I believe. I am a positive man, if Tottenham go above us, congratulations but I prefer to be five points ahead. It’s true that the players would like to go but I think the responsibility when you have a big game for us like West Brom on Monday, you need to stay at home, rest, focus on the game. I talk to my players: ‘Come on, now is the right moment to push’.
Under Brian Clough, Forest won the then First Division title in 1978 in what was their first season in the top flight, before lifting successive European Cups.
He said at Friday’s news conference: “We know he has one match off”.
The 29-year-old, who was last sent off in 2011 while playing for Fleetwood, will definitely miss Sunday’s clash with Swansea after receiving a second yellow card last week for diving. “It’s a shame but we play Monday”.
Kane has scored 24 league goals this season, the most in the division so far, and has become the first English player to score at least 20 goals in two successive seasons since Alan Shearer in 2007.
Leonardo Ulloa is the most likely player to be drafted into Ranieri’s starting XI in place of Vardy, but Nathan Dyer – on loan from Swansea – is ineligible to face his parent club.
“Ozil’s exclusion is a surprising one with the Germany global among the six nominees for this year’s PFA Player of the Year Award”, says the Daily Mail.
And Pochettino said spirits are running high as they continue their fight to end a 55-year wait for the title.
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“I think there was a very slight sort of contact with the defender, who was trying to cover”.
