Harry Winks has said Tottenham’s strength in depth will be tested by their “ridiculous” schedule this week.
Spurs visit West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, just 48 hours after their 1-0 loss to Manchester City, before travelling to Wolves on Saturday evening and hosting PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League next Tuesday.
Winks was asked whether the week ahead will give Spurs the chance to show their strength in depth.
“It’s going to have to be,” he said. “We’ve got three games in five days, which is ridiculous really in terms of the schedule.
“It’s going to be tough for us, we’ve got to dig in. But we’ve got a big squad, we’ve got players that can play two games in two days because we’re a fit squad.
“I might have [had a schedule like this] in youth-team football but it’s completely different. At the men’s level, the demand of the game is so much more physical. I think it’s more physically hard to prepare, as opposed to tactically and mentally. We’re in the same frame of mind and tactics that we do all the time.
“If any of the boys are feeling pain, now is the time to tell the physios. We have a day to try and get it right and get as much recovery as possible.
“For the boys like us who didn’t play as much against Man City, we’re feeling fit and fresh and ready to go into the game. It’s going to be tough but it’s the cards we’ve been dealt so we’ve got to deal with it.”
Tottenham have not won silverware since 2008 when they won the League Cup, and Winks said the squad want to end their trophy drought.
“The League Cup, Champions League, FA Cup, they’re all a priority for us and we want to win something this year — the Premier League as well,” he said. “The Champions League is going to be tough but we’re not out of that just yet, we’re going to fight for that.
“The Carabao Cup is going to be a big, important competition for us this year and hopefully we can go all the way.”