Tottenham need a home... but Wembley form is strong ahead of West Ham clash, says Jan Vertonghen

Home comforts: Jan Vertonghen is looking forward to when Spurs move in to their new ground
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Ben Pearce4 January 2018

Regardless of what happens on the pitch, 2018 is due to be an historic year for Spurs. All being well, they will move into their new stadium in the summer — and there have been times this campaign when it seemed the return to N17 could not come soon enough.

Tottenham won only three of their opening seven League matches at Wembley and in six of those games they were unable to score more than once. In late November, after the 1-1 draw against West Brom, Mauricio Pochettino admitted: “The feeling is much better when you play away from home than at Wembley because you feel that when you play at Wembley you are playing away from home too.”

Since then, Spurs’s home form has improved dramatically. Since the start of December, they have won all three League matches at Wembley and the goals have been flowing.

Pochettino’s side scored five against both Stoke and Southampton, either side of their 2-0 win over Brighton — and if the preceding 3-0 Champions League victory over Apoel Nicosia on December 6 is added to the picture, then the aggregate score across the past four home matches is 15-3.

A month ago, there were justifiable fears that Tottenham’s year in Brent could ruin their hopes of a third successive top-four finish. Now, if they can beat West Ham on Thursday, they will be just one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool, with every chance of claiming a Champions League spot.

Defender Jan Vertonghen said: “That would be a big achievement for us. That shows how good we really are. Everyone needs a home, and we will get one, but we’re doing very well at the moment at Wembley.

“I haven’t got this question [about Wembley] in a while and it’s a good sign. A couple of things changed after the Dortmund game [in September], where we did well. Then we beat Real Madrid and Liverpool. If you start beating the big teams there, people find something else to talk about.”

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Yet, overconfidence should be avoided. West Ham have a habit of raising their game for these duels.

Spurs led 3-0 at the London Stadium in September but conceded twice and had to cling on for a 3-2 victory. A month later, despite being 2-0 up in their League Cup tie at Wembley, Spurs conceded three times in 15 minutes and lost 3-2.

“That was one of the lower points of the season,” said Vertonghen. “We need to stay focused until the last minute, like against Swansea.”

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