Tottenham Hotspur defender Danny Rose has insisted that he is 'not surprised' by how well Manchester City have performed this season, but believes that they can still be caught at the Premier League summit.
The Citizens have opened up an eight-point lead over Manchester United and Spurs with nearly a third of the campaign played, dropping points in just one of their first 11 matches.
Rose claims that City's huge summer outlay, which saw them spend a record £200m on new players - including a complete overhaul in the full-back positions - was always going to give them a big advantage in the title race.
"I'm not surprised how well they've done, considering how much they've spent," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "You'd like to think a team spending that much is going to be right up there.
"I know you can always say nothing is won in November but they are going to take some catching. We're up for that challenge. We've already marked down when we play them - December 16.
"We're looking forward to that and we just have to make sure that if they do slip up any points along the way, we're ready and prepared to catch them.
"The focus at Tottenham is we want to go one stop further than last year and that's finishing first. The manager has set a brilliant mentality at the club, and I think everybody should be aware that if Man City do slip up we'll be there to put some pressure on them."
City have made the joint-best start to a Premier League campaign with 31 points from the first 33 on offer, matching their own record from 2011-12 and Chelsea in 05-06.
Daniel Lewis
