John Barnes has insisted that Tottenham are too inconsistent to be title contenders.
Spurs have made an encouraging start to the season, raising hopes among their fans that Jose Mourinho’s side could challenge the likes of Manchester City and champions Liverpool.
But former Liverpool and England star Barnes does not believe Tottenham will stay the course.
Speaking to BonusCodeBets, he said: “Tottenham are doing well, but Manchester City and Liverpool are still the favourites for the title.
“They (Tottenham) grinded out a victory against West Brom, a game they could have easily lost, but Tottenham aren’t a team who can continue to do that.
“They don’t play with enough consistency, score enough goals, so they are over and above their own expectations now sitting in second position, they are title challengers in the sense they will be in the top four, but they won’t finish in the top two.
“Spurs are always a game away from a disaster or a fan meltdown, and the fans and players will turn on Jose Mourinho as soon as things aren’t going so well. They lack the harmony and togetherness that other teams have, the players still don’t look happy to be there, so if Tottenham drop a few points that can easily snowball into something much bigger.
“It is a mentality thing as much as anything else. They will challenge for the third and fourth position at best, but they currently have good momentum that they need to take forward.”
Barnes believes that Spurs’ north London rivals Arsenal also need to find consistency if they are to be contenders.
He said: “Arsenal have to get the balance right. Thet used to be a creative side conceding too many goals and weak in the midfield area.
“With Thomas Partey coming in, he is not the most creative player, but defensively he brings something new to Arsenal.
“In the forward positions, with Aubameyang, Lacazette and Willian, they are trying to find the right formula. They had a great result against Manchester United away from home which not a lot of people expected, so it’s not as if they haven’t played well.
“Arsenal need to find consistency and an identity of how they are going to play, which they haven’t yet found.”
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