Portsmouth are currently fifteen points ahead of Spurs in the league, but with over half the season still to come, there is plenty of time for Juande Ramos' men to overturn the deficit, starting with the trip to Fratton Park tomorrow afternoon. Diop believes the only way this can happen is if Tottenham mimic the south coast side by playing as a team.
"They have very good players throughout their side and it is difficult to understand why they didn't perform so well earlier in the season," The Senegalese midfielder commented on Portsmouth's official website. " Maybe they relied too much on talented individual players rather than playing as a team. At Pompey, we always play together and work hard. if we win, we win as a team. And if we lose, we lose as a team."
Diop may have a point but then again little has changed in the teamwork, or supposed lack of it, that helped us to win four and draw one of our last five games against Portsmouth. Although all is rosy now on the south coast, with Harry Redknapp's side enjoying an eleven match unbeaten run, keeping that run going may prove difficult when the African Cup of Nations deprives them of five players including the midfielders Diop and Muntari. Add to that the return of Ledley King in the new year to stabilise the Tottenham backline and you begin to understand that a lot can happen before May. We aren't finished yet, Mr Diop.
Granted tomorrow's match will be a tough one, as is the case with any match at Fratton Park but it seems slightly premature for Diop to start dishing out lessons to a team that have finished fifth in the past two seasons. Brilliant away from home - maybe they could teach us about that - Pompey's main problem has been drawing at Fratton Park team - and not scoring. If Ramos can keep it tight at the back and with confidence on the up after the victory against Man City, Berbatov et al may just spoil Harry's Christmas dinner.