Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says it is too early to consider his side Premier League title contenders.
Spurs have been one of the most impressive outfits of the season so far and could end the weekend at the top of the table if they beat Brighton and other results go their way.
But they go into the game on the back of a sobering Europa League loss to Royal Antwerp on Thursday where Mourinho gave his players both barrels afterwards.
Mourinho’s men could already be sitting pretty at the top had they not dropped four points from goals conceded in injury time, but the Portuguese says it is not until after Christmas that the standings count for anything.
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“I believe the table now doesn’t mean much,” Mourinho said. “I believe that by February, March, you look to the table and understand the reality of the competition.
“A part of that special season with a special Leicester, a part of that you get into February or March and the reality of the teams are expressed on the table, in this moment not yet.
“We had magnificent results away in the Premier League but at home we lost too many points and with these points we would be there but it is not a target.
“The target is to win against Brighton knowing, as you said before, that anything can happen in the Premier League.”
If Spurs are to challenge for honours then they need to sort their home form out.
While they have won all three away games, scoring 12 goals, they have yet to win on their own patch, mainly due to a poor performance versus Everton and late goals conceded against Newcastle and West Ham.
“I am not so worried about the home record,” Mourinho said. “I am worried about playing well and getting points and against Everton the frustration was we probably deserved, I think, a point but we didn’t play well and in other games the feeling was different.
“We played very well against Newcastle, we played very well against West Ham so let’s try and play very well against Brighton and when you play very well you normally win, so let’s try.”
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