Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski insists his side’s lack of European commitment hands them a huge advantage over their title rivals.
The North Londoners emerged from matchday nine with their impressive unbeaten streak still intact after swatting aside capital rivals Fulham in a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from dynamic duo Son Heing-Min and James Maddison.
After making it seven wins from nine, Ange Postecoglou’s men will have ample time to prepare for their trip to Crystal Palace at the weekend while their rivals compete in midweek European tournaments.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Aston Villa all return to European action this week before returning to Premier League duties at the weekend.
Kulusevski has urged his teammates to take full advantage of their extra time on the training ground, with Tottenham now touted as an unlikely contender for the Premier League title.
“You can feel the difference, and hopefully, you will see it even more at the end of the season,” Kulusevski told Standard Sport.
“It helps a lot, honestly. Physically, I remember last season was very hard playing three games a week. You feel very tired in the warm-ups.
“Also, mentally, not having to travel to Spain or Italy to play games helps. You are at home, with your family, you have a good rest mentally, also.
“So it is a huge thing that we have, and we have to take advantage of that this year.”
Despite Kulusevski’s optimism, the Swedish forward stopped short of touting his side as title contenders, insisting daily improvements will be key to their success this season.
“It is early [for title talk], we will see what happens,” he added.
“Everything can change so we don’t need to talk about that, but we must live for the day with a smile, train hard and not forget who we are. We must try to get better every day.
“It is not important what people say. The important thing is to work hard, be humble, listen to the coach and keep the smiles on faces. Then at the end of the season, we will see where we are.”
