Mauricio Pochettino: 'Tottenham players would deserve statues if they win title'

Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur on March 2, 2016
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino jokes that all of his players would deserve their own statue if they are able to overhaul Leicester and win the title.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that every player in his team would deserve their own statue if they won the Premier League title this season.

Spurs currently trail leaders Leicester City by eight points, but could close that gap to five with a win over Stoke City on Monday night after the Foxes were held by West Ham United earlier today.

Pochettino acknowledged that it is still a tall order for his side, but urged the players to continue believing that they can overhaul Claudio Ranieri's men.

"If we won the championship, I think that every player would deserve a statue," Pochettino told reporters before Leicester's draw with West Ham.

"The challenge is big because seven points is a big gap, but to keep fighting in the way that we have fought and in the end win the title, all the people would recognise our value. And we would be happy, too. [Leicester] deserve to [have the attention]. But I think we cannot fight against all that happens around Leicester.

"We need to fight against them and against us and our opponents and it's a very good challenge. We know that all the people want Leicester to be champions, but we need to believe that we can change the story."

Spurs are gunning for their first top-flight title since 1961.

Claudio Ranieri has a chuckle prior to the game between Aston Villa and Leicester on January 16, 2016
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester352210363333076
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs351912465263969
3Manchester CityMan City35197966343264
4Arsenal351810758342464
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd34178942301259
6West Ham UnitedWest Ham341414657431456
7Liverpool341510958451355
8Southampton351591149371254
9Chelsea341211115346747
10Stoke CityStoke35138143751-1447
11Everton34914115348541
12Watford34118153340-741
13West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom351011143243-1141
14Bournemouth35118164261-1941
15Swansea CitySwansea351010153449-1540
16Crystal Palace35109163645-939
17Sunderland34710173957-1831
18Norwich CityNorwich3487193560-2531
19Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3579193864-2630
RAston Villa3537252569-4416