Chelsea vs Spurs | Ange’s preview: “It’s important we do it our way and play our football”

Ange Postecoglou says ‘we want to keep pushing ourselves’ as we prepare for Premier League trips to Stamford Bridge and Anfield in the space of three days.

It’s Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea up first in our second London derby this week in SW6 this evening (7.30pm UK) followed by Liverpool on Sunday (4.30pm UK).

Ange said the reaction from the players was ‘normal’ in training after Sunday’s NLD defeat to Arsenal. “You get back to work... the good thing is that we’ve another big game, we don’t have to sit on that for too long, and that’s where our focus is,” he said.

The immediate focus is Chelsea, and while the Blues sit 12 points behind us in the table, in terms of form, that’s deceptive – Chelsea have lost just one of their last 10 in the Premier League (at Arsenal) and have won seven of their last nine at the Bridge. Cole Palmer has been the inspiration in SW6 – he’s scored seven goals in Chelsea's last two home wins against United (4-3) and Everton (6-0).

Asked about the trips to Chelsea and Liverpool, Ange said: “They are big challenges for us, and we want to keep pushing ourselves, keep growing and taking on these challenges it’s really important that we do it our way and play our football, measure ourselves and see where we’re at.

“Chelsea are a good side. Obviously, they’ve had an up and down season, but it turns out they’ve real talent in the building, players who can hurt you, for sure, and lack a bit of consistency, but especially at Stamford Bridge, irrespective of their form, it’s a London derby and it will be a tough game.

“It’s about being ourselves, playing our football, that's when you figure out where you’re at, by testing yourselves in different environments against good opposition, knowing you’ll get found out if you shy away from the contest, so we’ll go out there how we always do and see how we stack up.”