After the euphoria of beating Chelsea in their last Premier League game, Tottenham Hotspur return to what Sir Alex Ferguson might have called ‘mundane practicality’ this week.

Mauricio Pochettino may not have a glamourous Champions League tie on the horizon as Ferguson did, but the situation is clear: the Premier League’s banal games might feel like road furniture to negotiate on your way to bigger and better things, but you do need to win them.

There were times when you could sense that player motivation in the smaller games was the task Ferguson seemed to see as his biggest. In his final season, just before United’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid at Old Trafford, Ferguson had to negotiate a game against Norwich in a game that would have put his side 15 points clear of Manchester City. In many ways, getting your side up for that is a more difficult task than the Champions League tie just a few days later.

Pochettino isn’t in the same boat, but it’s a similar one. Building momentum over the last few weeks, Spurs find themselves well and truly in a title race after a statement win over Chelsea. In fact, it was more than just a statement - it was a victory of substance, one that was necessary to keep Chelsea in check and allow other teams to actually challenge them this season.

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These are the big games, the ones you don’t really need to motivate players for: if you’re not chomping at the bit to beat the league leaders and put yourselves in contention in the process, you’re probably in the wrong job.

West Brom at home, however, is a different story.

And yet, at this point, it’s just as important as the Chelsea game. Beating Chelsea took Spurs three points closer to the leaders, but defeat this weekend would put them right back where they came from. That’s assuming Chelsea win, and when you’re chasing a leader in the title race, you really have to assume they will.

Tottenham’s victory last week undoubtedly puts them in a good position. But they’re also in an awkward one: after a momentous win, the last thing you need is an FA Cup weekend you don’t really care about (fans might but, judging by team selection, Mauricio Pochettino didn’t particularly) before a game against West Brom.

Sometimes you need the games to come thick and fast whenever you’ve hit form, and a convincing win over everyone’s title favourites certainly breeds form. The problem now is picking themselves back up for it.

When a player takes a knock to the knee, the first thing you’ll hear from the ex-pro co-commentator is a wince, the second thing will be a warning to keep the knee moving, otherwise it’ll stiffen.

Spurs better hope it hasn’t stiffened up in the week and a half since their big win.

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