Tottenham Hotspur

Dele Alli: 'Tottenham Hotspur have definitely improved this term'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 14 May 2017

Dele Alli admits that it has been a "strange" season for Tottenham Hotspur overall, having once again fallen just short in the Premier League title race.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has insisted that his side have "definitely improved" this season despite once again falling short in the Premier League title race.

The Lilywhites put up a brave fight, reducing the gap on runaway leaders Chelsea from 14 points to just four, before defeat to West Ham United derailed their pursuit.

Spurs were on a nine-game winning run heading into last weekend's clash at the London Stadium, and Alli admits that the mood in the dressing room after the match was among the flattest he has experienced.

"We have definitely improved as a team and are progressing," he told Sky Sports News. "We did really well to get it down, at one point I think Chelsea were 14 points away from us, and we took it down to four points.

"It was one of the worst atmospheres I've been in after the game [West Ham] in the changing room, everyone was so disappointed. As individuals and as a team, we've learned our lesson from last season, being in the title race and not even finishing second was a hard one to take. We just have to make sure we finish this season strongly.

"It's been a strange [season]. It's disappointing but at the same time we can't forget how well we've done as a team. We have definitely improved on last year but after the game against West Ham, everything before gets forgotten. It's important we don't forget about what happened and how far we've come."

A point for Tottenham over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon in the final game to be staged at White Hart Lane will guarantee them a Premier League-high finish of second.