Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel is backing his old club to be battling for silverware until the very end of the season.

Spurs went close last season as runners-up in the Champions League final, while also finishing fourth in the Premier League.

But the 48-year-old believes they will be more in the hunt this season with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

"Mauricio (Pochettino) will continue to do what he needs to do, and what he's always done," said Friedel.

"He has a certain approach that he takes; he knows that it's a strategy that works. He'll no doubt know the personalities of his players better than anyone and whether they win, lose or draw this weekend, it won't make or break the season. They'll challenge for silverware right until the end of the season."

The former Blackburn Rovers shot stopper was also quick to praise captain Hugo Lloris and is confident he'll play a huge part this campaign.

"Every goalkeeper in the world, no matter how good, goes through a dip in their career," he added.

"The true character of a keeper is how he gets through these times after mistakes, can he bounce back?

"Hugo (Lloris) has proved to be unflappable in those terms, nobody is ever going to go seasons being perfect. He's a strong character and an outstanding goalkeeper, he knows better than most how to deal with that.

"I look to see how top keepers deal with the mistakes they make and Hugo's played in some of the biggest games on the world stage such as the World Cup final.

"If he makes a mistake, he knows how to deal with it."

The USA legend, who won 82 caps for his country, still remains very thankful to the north London outfit for helping get into coaching.

He said: "I was lucky that I was still playing while doing my UEFA A and UEFA B badges at Tottenham's academy.

"The experience that Mauricio (Pochettino) and John McDermott (Head of Academy) gave me was absolutely invaluable for myself as a young manager.

"He has no problem being hard when he needs to be. When he first came to Tottenham, there were many players he needed to get rid of, he had to figure out who would adapt to his system.

"He also had to deal with the financial parameters. It wasn't easy to do."