Tottenham Hotspur face a visit from Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday as they enter the second half of the 2018/19 season.
Spurs now sit in second spot just six points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Ahead of the Wolves clash, Mauricio Pochettino held his customary pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way.
Title race hotting up
Spurs have dragged themselves into this season's title race, just a few weeks ago they were level on points with Arsenal in fourth place.
However, Pochettino remained realistic and calm about the situation:
"We are in a very good position. I think we are in a position that the team deserves to be. But another thing is to be a real contender at the end of the season. We need to show that we can be consistent though the whole season.
"Manchester City have shown in the past they can be real contenders because they won the last Premier League and of course Liverpool make an unbelievable investment and they are doing well and they are at the top of the table," the Argentine said.
Liverpool face a visit from Arsenal on Saturday and then a trip to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
"We need to show ourselves and everyone that we can be real contenders if we can be consistent during the whole season," Pochettino added.
Wolves visit
Tottenham scraped a 3-2 victory in the end against Wolves at Molineux Stadium last month after almost letting their 3-0 lead slip.
And Pochettino is expecting a similar battle on Saturday:
"Wolves are a very good team, one of the best teams I like to watch the most. They have a very good squad, good player, great managers and I think they are doing a great job there.
"It is going to be tough, it was tough the game we played a few months ago," the 46-year-old added.
Pochettino also commented on the Wolves boss Nuno Espírito Santo:
"I know him very well, he spent one day here, the whole day talking with us. I have a very good memory and he is doing a fantastic job," he said.
Busy schedule
Spurs have had a busy past two months with games stacking up due to remaining in all competitions.
But Pochettino has insisted his players are still feeling fresh:
"You know very well that the players always want to play. When they’re tired, the same. They try to manipulate you and convince you that they’re ready."
Dele Alli travelled with the squad on Boxing Day but Pochettino removed him from the squad to protect him in the long-run.
"But of course that is a very good signal for us, that all the players want to play, no-one wants to rest. Dele yesterday was involved in the squad but after was out of the 18.
"This morning he said to me, ‘Gaffer I’m going to be ready.’ I said, ‘Relax, you need to train this morning and then we’ll see tomorrow and assess you’," Poch added.