Burnley quickly in Ben’s sights after ‘massive’ derby win
Fri 13 May 2022, 16:30|Tottenham Hotspur
It didn’t take long - about 30 minutes - for Ben Davies to put derby celebrations to one side and start thinking about Burnley on Sunday.
It was a Thursday night to remember as the team matched the atmosphere generated by a record crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the majority of the 62,027 going home in raptures after a commanding 3-0 win thanks to the deadly duo - Harry Kane scoring twice in the first half, Heung-Min Son wrapping it up two minutes into the second.
The win moved us to within a point of Arsenal with two matches of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign remaining and that coveted fourth place very much up for grabs.
“We had to deliver tonight,” said Ben, who clocked up a personal milestone - his 41st appearance in all competitions toppled his previous best of 40 in a season for us. “We knew the importance of the game and what would happen of the result didn’t go our way.
“These games are always special, and this is a massive feeling, beating our biggest rivals is always huge but we have to stay calm and realise what’s ahead of us now, a massive game and quick turnaround against Burnley.”
Mike Jackson took over from Sean Dyche on 15 April and Burnley responded with 10 points out of 12 to move out of the bottom three. However, last weekend’s loss at home to Villa means they’re only outside the relegation zone on goal difference from Leeds, albeit with a game in hand.
“Burnley are a decent team who can cause you a lot of problems,” added Ben. “We’ve seen in their last four or five games that they’ve been on a good run. It will be tough. We had three massive games; we’ve completed part one.”
Ben felt our fans ‘made a difference’ against Arsenal, and he’s looking for the same again for the early kick-off (12noon) on Sunday.
He added: “You can see how tough it is when you go to somewhere like Anfield and it’s bouncing, you feel that pressure from the fans, I think our fans made a huge difference tonight. It was incredible, one of the best atmospheres I’ve seen here. That gave us such a boost, real drive - and we’ll need it again on Sunday.”