Dawson eyes fourth place for Spurs

Spurs defender Michael Dawson has not given up hope of finishing fourth in the Premier League.

Spurs’ bid to secure a second successive season of Champions League football appeared to have been dashed when they lost at Chelsea on Saturday before Manchester City won at Blackburn Rovers to open up a seven-point advantage with just four matches left.

After winning just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions, Tottenham are even struggling to qualify for the Europa League after slipping to sixth.

Failure to beat Blackpool on Saturday could signal the end of their top-four hopes, and even victory would leave them still needing to win at City on Tuesday to stand any chance of a remarkable fightback.

“We’re still in that hunt for fourth spot and we won’t be giving up,” Dawson said.

“It’s a must, must-win on Saturday and then we go to Man City to give them a good game and hopefully get the win there.”

“We’ve got to concentrate on Saturday and make sure that we get the three points, which is a must. Nothing else will be good enough for us.”

Tottenham have struggled against teams in the bottom half of the table this season and were the last side to lose to Blackpool, who are on an eight-match winless run that has sucked them into a relegation dogfight.

“They’ll be fighting as well, fighting for their lives, so we’ve got to be ready,” said Dawson, who will be expected to captain Spurs to victory providing they cut out the kind of errors which cost them dear at Stamford Bridge.