Everton manager Roberto Martinez has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur have all of the attributes to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
Spurs, who meet the Toffees at Goodison Park on Sunday, currently sit fourth in the table, only four points adrift of joint-leaders Arsenal and Leicester City.
With other expected title challengers struggling this season, Martinez believes that the door could be open for Mauricio Pochettino's side to mount an unexpected bid for the trophy come May.
"Why not? If anything this season is about consistency and whichever team is able to be consistent in the second half of the season will have a great opportunity to achieve a really, really good ending of the campaign," he told reporters.
"Spurs have a strong squad, a large squad, they're competing in Europe. They've got a strong mentality as a group and I don't see them losing any sort of energy or focus over the next few months. If anything, being such a young team, I expect them to grow even stronger. I see them as strong contenders for a really successful finish.
"I've been a big admirer of this Spurs side. What Mauricio Pochettino has achieved is a really strong team, very young, very athletic, with a lot of energy and with a talented front four that they can score goals from any situation. It's not surprising to me how consistent they've been and how difficult they are to play against.
"I expect Tottenham to have a stronger second half of the campaign, that's why we'll have to be at our best. But, at the same time, we're looking forward to that game because we feel that we've been a bit unfortunate with our results and a good performance against a team as good as Spurs, at Goodison, could get us in a fantastic position approaching the start of the new year."
Everton themselves are down in 11th, although they trail fifth-placed Crystal Palace by just five points.
Barney Corkhill
