LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino does not think West Brom are a bogey team for Tottenham and says his side's best ever half of football came against the Baggies last season.
Spurs host West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday, aiming for a first home win against them since 2012. Their last three meetings have finished 1-1, including October's game at the Hawthorns, and the home draw back in April as good as ended Tottenham's title hopes.
In that game, Spurs were brilliant in the first half and led through Craig Dawson's own goal but they lost their way after the interval, resorting to long balls towards lone striker Harry Kane. Dawson equalised, leaving Spurs seven points behind Leicester City with three games to play and with just three wins in 10 matches against the Baggies.
At his prematch press conference, Pochettino urged his players to "put away" any doubts about playing West Brom and, speaking at a later briefing, he reminded them of that first half in April.
"I think it is just a coincidence. And I remember we beat them 3-0 two seasons ago," Pochettino said, when asked about Spurs' recent record against West Brom.
"The players that week they were very well-behaved and very happy. I think one of the best spells of football we played last season was in the first half against West Bromwich.
"In two-and-a-half years [at the club], it was the best performance of football we've played as a team. If you see that first 45 minutes...how we played from front to back, the movement, the chances we created. We were unlucky in the second half.
"In one set piece we conceded the goal. But no, no, in our minds all we want is to get the three points [on Saturday] and play. It will be tough because it is a good team, but nothing more."
After last season's match at White Hart Lane, Spurs let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at Chelsea, a result that confirmed Leicester as Premier League champions, but Pochettino said the season as a whole, rather than either game, was the reason his team did not win the title.
"You never lose the title in one game -- you lose the title at the moment when you say you cannot fight for it mathematically. And we lost the title before that. Not in that game -- in every game.
"We can speak about different games during the season. Not just about West Brom or Chelsea. It is only at the end when you lose the last possibility to be champions. But it was not that moment. It was not the final where you lose the opportunity.
"It's about 38 games -- the first, the last and the middle games are important."
Meanwhile, Pochettino said it was unlikely that Dele Alli would sign a third new contract in 14 months after his brilliant recent form.
"It's not a moment now to talk about that. He's happy," the Spurs boss said of Alli, who agreed a new six-year deal until 2022 in September. "We cannot extend every few months a contract and improve the salary. I don't like to talk about rumours. He's happy, he natural and he's performing well and that's the most important thing."