One game at a time in January

Tottenham have done a brilliant job of taking one game at a time in the first half of the season. When Mauricio Pochettino came in there was much to change, the club mentality, the players mentality, the fans mentality.

Did the club think like a title-winning club? Did the fans think like title winning fans?

Complaints about his appointment, complaints because 'instant success' wasn't achieved, we did reach a final fans tend to forget. Success isn't like instant coffee, but even instant coffee has a lot of work before it hits the shelves and you get the 'instant' demands.

Having searched for the right man for years, it was clear from the outset that we believed we had come across him and Daniel Levy backed him with the way players were forced out and fresh players with the right mentality brought in.

That mentality, recently referred to by Everton manager Roberto Martinez, sets a long-term goal, a season goal and game by game goals. To win every game is not possible, in theory it is, but it has never happened to date and I doubt it ever will. When a defeat or dropped points occur you  move on and focus on the nxt game. While making improvements, adjustments, while learning from any mistakes, you look forward, not backward as certain fans tend to do. If you cling to the past you can't move forward.

We have had a good Christmas period, now we move into the New Year with a days extra rest before the Everton game. It is a nice feeling to know that we sit fourth and whatever the results are today we will still be fourth at the end of it.

What does January hold for us?

Sun 3rd Everton (a) 4pm
Wed 13th Leicester City (h) 8pm
Sat 16th Sunderland (h) 12.45pm
Sat 23rd Crystal Palace (a) 3pm

The FA Cup tie allows Mousa Dembele some healing time where we won't miss him so he looks like being out for three Premier League games instead of what would have been four. Two home games, two away games, each offering their own problems.

Everton seems to be a little hot and cold, although Romelu Lukaku is on a streak at the moment. They have won three of their ten home games, drawing three and losing four. Our away record places us fourth, won four, drawn four, lost one.

Leicester City have just lost their first away game of the season, having won six and drawn three out of ten. Thay are the best team in the country away from home at the moment.

From the top of the table on away form to the bottom of the table and Sunderland. We will have to avoid complacency when we play Sunderland who have lost eight, won one and drawn one on their travels.

Finally, the month is rounded off bu Crystal palace, themselves having a wonderful season under Alan Pardew, just as he did with Newcastle United for a season a few years back. From their ten home games, they have won four drawn two and lost four.

We will achieve by concentrating on one game at a time, the bigger picture will look after itself, each game is the most important game of the season as each game carries another three points. If you could shut out all other results like being in the darkness where you can only see your own results then you would strive to give your utmost to secure three points every game before having it revealed to you where you had actually finished at the end.

It is that sort of focus that needs to go into every game starting tomorrow.

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