Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas left hoping for Arsenal and Chelsea to 'slip-up' after draw at Stamford Bridge
Qualification for the Champions League is now out of Tottenham's hands
Andre Villas-Boas has conceded that Tottenham Hotspur have to hope for favours from elsewhere in their push for Champions League football.
Finishing in the top four is no longer in Spurs' hands after their 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Even if they win their last two games, against Stoke and Sunderland, they will need Arsenal or Chelsea to drop points to finish in the Champions League places.
“Hopefully there will be a slip-up, it's unpredictable,” said Villas-Boas afterwards.
“We don't depend on ourselves any more. Our situation changes a bit because destiny is not in our hands. But what we have to do is win the next fixtures and hope somebody slips up.”
“Arsenal have had all this time to rest, and it won't be easy for Wigan to play so early after an FA Cup final. Chelsea have a difficult game at Villa, we have an extremely difficult game at Stoke. Anything can happen.”
Villas-Boas was pleased, though, with the spirit his side showed in pulling Chelsea back twice to draw 2-2 and their commitment to winning the game in the final 10 minutes.
“We did every so well to get a point given the situation,” he said. “I'm extremely pleased by the performance. The reality is we have to do our job and hope something can happen. There is a great example of Tottenham's determination and ambition, when you saw us pick the ball out of the back of the net at 2-2.”
“It was a great game of football. An outstanding night. We played out the game of the season, great attacking football from both sides.”
Villas-Boas praised the performance of Emmanuel Adebayor, who scored a brilliant first goal before making the second.
“Adebayor's performance was absolutely outstanding. He'd been struggling with knee pain, and that was a great performance. He deserved his man of the match award. He was outstanding.”
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