Gary Lineker has confessed that he "made an error" with his pre-season prediction for Tottenham Hotspur, and has placed them higher than he first thought. The former footballer, who spent three seasons at Spurs, had initially tipped the London side to finish fifth in the Premier League this season.
However, Lineker has since admitted that he actually meant to put Tottenham in the top four. Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest is Football podcast, the 63-year-old said: "Just a quick one on Leicester and Tottenham while I think about it. When we did our predictions, I made an error.
"It's okay to change it now, because they haven't played yet. But I was meant to put Tottenham in the top four. I only had three Champions League spots. I am just going to correct myself there and put Tottenham in the top four."
Lineker also cleared up why he made this blunder, adding: "It's myself. I listen to the podcast, to check that we don’t mess up too much and I thought, 'hang on a minute? Why did I put Tottenham fifth when I was meant to put them third or fourth, battling with Liverpool'. I even said 'batting with Liverpool'. So, just to be clear."
Spurs had a great start to the season last year, with some people even tipping them as dark horses for the title. However, a downturn in form had them in fifth by the end of the campaign.
Ange Postecoglou's side have done some big transfer business over the summer to strengthen his side. The signing of 19-year-old Wilson Odebert from Burnley for £25million, followed a £65m move for striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth, while teenage midfield talent Archie Gray arrived from Leeds for £30m. The club have also signed two more teenage prospects – Lucas Bergvall from Djurgården and Yang Min-hyeok from Gangwon FC – to bolster the squad and help plan for the future.
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Postecoglou has also praised his squad ahead of their Premier League opener against Leicester City on Monday evening, as he claims the team is "better prepared" for the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.
In an interview with the Men in Blazers YouTube channel, the 58-year-old said: "We’ll have grown a lot from last year of understanding about ourselves. When we were good we were exciting, I think we had everyone talking about us.
"When we had to grind, we found a way to get there. But there was obviously a space in there when we didn't cope well with disruptions, which I think is only natural because when things are going well it’s a lot easier to stay on board with something.
"We had some disruptions in terms of injuries, in terms of suspensions - some lack of discipline there for sure, which happens with young players. We didn't cope well with that but we learnt a lot through that."