Ander Herrera has claimed Tottenham are a “real rival” for the Premier League AND Champions League before their Old Trafford showdown with his Manchester United side on Saturday.
The Spaniard insists last weekend's horror defeat at promoted Huddersfield was now behind Jose Mourinho’s side, after they returned to winning ways on Tuesday with a Carabao Cup win away to Swansea.
His Red Devils now face a run of three huge games in nine days — Spurs (who are level on points with United in second place), Benfica's visit in the Champions League and then a trip to champions Chelsea.
“We have a massive game at home against Tottenham, so it’s good to face that game with good feelings,” said Herrera.
“Of course it will be a big statement to beat them — we have to win against them because they are a direct rival for the title and also because we play at home. I have to tell our fans that we really need them on Saturday.
“Tottenham are a real rival. For the last two or three seasons they have improved a lot. They are contenders for everything — even for the Champions League (Herrera was speaking before Spurs' Carabao Cup loss to West Ham).
“We saw last week the game they played against Real Madrid and they were not worse than them. That means they are ready for everything. Then they took Liverpool apart at the weekend.
“They are very well organised, they play good football and they have players who can score – Eriksen, Dele Alli, Son, Harry Kane. Even the full-backs are very offensive.
“It’s going to be very difficult but we play at home with our fans behind us and we have to try to win.”
Herrera was one of only four United players retained in midweek after he had criticised his side’s effort at the John Smith’s Stadium.
“If you listen properly to what I said, I just said the first 30 minutes they had a better attitude than us,” explained the midfielder. “That’s what I said.
“But now we want to forget what happened on Saturday.
“Of course we were upset after the game and I think we faced the game in the right way against Swansea.
“When you lose a game you want to play as quickly as possible and play well as we did tonight. This club is about titles and fighting for everything and we are still in four competitions.”
Asked if he accepted Mourinho’s harsh comments after the Yorkshire defeat, Herrera said: “Of course.
“Everything he says I accept. I am a professional.
“We have a fantastic relationship. So let’s look forward and think about Tottenham.”