Mauricio Pochettino determined to put 'Spursy history' in the past to transform Tottenham into title winners

Tottenham manager admits the club's previous record has been disappointing, but following up Wednesday's win over Real madrid with victory against Palace can change that completely

Mauricio Pochettino believes Spurs have turned a corner in being considered as genuine title challengers (Getty)

It would be just typical of Tottenham to go from the high of beating Real Madrid to the low of slipping up against Crystal Palace.

Traditionally, you would not put that past a flaky Spurs side but Mauricio Pochettino believes he has changed the perception and altered the mindset in this part of north London.

Put simply, the club's inconsistencies in winning the seemingly impossible and somehow losing the most probable are, according to Pochettino, firmly a thing of the past.

A Spurs side still basking in beating the Champions League holders should have now problem swotting aside the Premier League's bottom team who are yet to score in their five away games.

The statistics might not be in Tottenham's favour, with the last five teams to beat Real Madrid in the European Cup having all dropped points in their domestic leagues the following game after.

But Tottenham manager Pochettino no longer fears a hangover is looming when they return to Wembley on Sunday.

“To be honest I have heard of the 'Spursy' term,” he said.

“I've heard people say we are not that anymore. In the last few years I've heard more and more people say that. The challenge is to keep the good times as it's a great club.

“All those people like the fans and staff who love Tottenham feel disappointed for this history of the club.

“There is a view of Tottenham in the past we are trying to change things.

“I remember our first game was against West Ham and everyone was worried, it's West Ham and Tottenham have lost three times to them the season before.

“It would be a difficult game at Upton Park and then QPR at home when Harry Redknapp was in charge, and my face was like the emoticon with big eyes. The feeling was like 'Come on, we must be there and we must feel we can smash everyone.'

“We then beat West Ham and QPR...then we started to go down. From that moment we started to work hard to change that perception."

Pochettino wants Spurs to put their 'disappointing history' behind them (Getty)

Pochettino will make changes but will feel his Spurs side have enough in reserve to beat struggling Crystal Palace, even with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and defender Toby Alderweireld ruled out.

Their energy resources in beating Real will be tested, with Lloris (groin) and Alderweireld (hamstring) the victims of Wednesday' 3-1 win, but Pochettino insists his players will remain firmly planted to the ground.

“We must be focused, we must use the result to lift us and build confidence,” he said.

“But we understand we must work hard to get another good result. It's always difficult to play Wednesday to Sunday. The effort was massive.

“It's true the challenge now is to be focused, it's a massive opportunity to forget the Real Madrid game.

“We know very well in football, we must keep feet on the grass. All the games are so important and tough.

“You cannot be relaxed when you compete in this game. The players are happy of course. I'm very conscious that the game on Sunday is very important, so important for us to get the three points. We must fight, give our best. Focus is so important.”