Mauricio Pochettino says a song from Britney Spears and Will.I.Am perfectly sums up his message to his players – “all eyes on us”.

During this unpredictable Premier League season, a number of Tottenham’s rivals are struggling and are having to contend with speculation and distractions.

And, while that has helped Spurs to climb into the top four, it has also strengthened Arsenal’s hand, with the Lilywhites’ old enemy lying just two points off the top.

But that is of no concern to Pochettino, who is fully focused on Tottenham’s development and has quoted lyrics from the 2012 song ‘Scream & Shout’ – a collaboration between Britney Spears and Will.I.Am – to make his point.

“I think we need to look at us,” he said. “I think it’s like what Britney Spears and Will.I.Am sing: “All eyes on us, all eyes on us”, because it’s not important what Arsenal do. For me it’s important to assess our season and how we can improve and compare it with ourselves, not how we compare with another team. If we finish in the top four it’s a success because we will have improved on last season.

“I think the players show every day that they believe in the way we are taking. It’s difficult to explain all the reasons but I think we have a group that believes in the way we play and believes we can achieve a lot of things. We only need time.

“But the problem in football is always to be patient and try to deliver your game. It’s impossible to settle a new philosophy and create a winning team and mentality if you don’t have enough time to deliver that.”

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